


The Girl They Lost To The Maze

by TheMagicDragon13



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Ghost Girl - Freeform, Ghost Stories, Human Experimentation, Kinda, Lost Memories, M/M, My OC is a troll, Nick lives, Not much angst cuz then i'll cry, Survival Skills, Things will actually go better, actual cursing, kind of crack I guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 23:29:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12000195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMagicDragon13/pseuds/TheMagicDragon13
Summary: REVISED! Above her, circling her elevator box was a good number of boys – borderline men – looking down at her like inquisitive beasts. She didn't dare to move, hoping that their eyes wouldn't catch hold of her. Maybe if she was still they wouldn't see her, like lizards. Or was it dinosaurs? Unfortunately, they weren't either. Revised as of October 2018! New Chapter up too!





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! I am reposting this story from fanfiction to this platform, since I know many don't actually use FF.net. I will be updating them at the same time, too. This is my first work, so please be gentle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! New kid here... I've had this idea in my mind FOREVER and I've always wanted to write a fanfic, so I decided to take my chances with this story. Please remember that I'm new at writing and that I'd LOVE some constructive criticism... Please enjoy and tell me if you want more! (Lord knows this fandom needs more love)
> 
>  
> 
> EDITED OCTOBER 2018: I suddenly got a huge motivation to read this story – that motivation being me finding my notebook that had my outline in it. I moved apartments last year, and thought I lost it but upon moving out of my other apartment, I FOUND IT! Its definitely going onto my computer after that.
> 
>  
> 
> I’ve decided to rewrite the chapters – not too much, just adjusting grammar, descriptors and such. There have been a few added scenes in some chapters, but I’ll tell you which. To fit my matured style of writing, some things are gonna be taken out, ya know, like POVs that come outta nowhere. If you guys like the old version better, just tell me, and I’ll upload the old version as a new story.
> 
>  
> 
> I still would very much appreciate constructive criticism if there’s something you see that you think I should change. I do, in fact, read all the comments, so thank you all for your well wishes! I’m fine, still in college (so how fine is college fine?) and now that I have my outline, I’m gonna actually be updating this story again!
> 
>  
> 
> I’ll shut up now, ENJOY!

She woke up with a gasp, lurching up from her position on the ground, head swiveling side to side to take in the roaring darkness.

 

Every second a red light flashed by her, telling her that she was moving upwards. Her world was trembling around her, so loud it had her ears ring.

_What? Where am I? Who am I?_

 "Hello?" She yelled at the darkness, her voice cracking and seeming unused to such an action.

She frantically searched her brain for the scraps of memories she had, her breathing picking up in pace as she realized that her memories were unclear. All around her the roaring of the contraption she was in did not stop. She felt around her with her hands, feeling metal grate beneath her, touching a metal crate to her left, and a soft bag to her right. As she felt the bag, a barely audible crackle was heard. The girl's wide, frantic eyes fell on a crushed note tied to this bag.

The girl practically threw herself at the small piece of paper, hoping it was a clue to what was happening. She tilted towards the red light, reading the paper in its flashes.

_'For her'_

_What? Who's her? Am I 'her'?_

She shook her head, realizing that it was useless to ask questions, because she was obviously alone. She picked up the bag - which she now realizes is a medium sized duffle bag - and threw the long strap over her head.

_I need to check out what's in it as soon as I can... WHEN I can! How far up is the top? This crazy ass elevator is NOT slowing down!_

 She leaned forward, clutching at the metal grate beneath her, closing her eyes and desperately tried to calm down. The contraption shook and her head snapped upwards to look and the small light that seemed to be getting bigger.

_Nononononononoo! I'm not ready to die!_

Unwanted, hot tears made their way down her face as the light got so bright and big that

it blinded her. She could only clench her eyes shut and hold her breath.

Then it all _stopped._

She was glad she kept a firm grip on the metal grate, because as soon as the ungodly elevator came to a stop, she almost went flying into the ceiling.

All was still. The roaring of the elevator stopped, the whistling in her ears quieted, and even her heartbeat seemed to have halted. Letting out a gush of air, she opened her eyes and took in the faint lines of light above her. She leaned back slowly, trying to regain her equilibrium, and backed herself into the corner of the cage-like elevator.

Suddenly, a groaning noise came from above her, and the faint light lines expanded into a light covering the whole ceiling. She could only squint as two doors opened up at the top of the cage. She hurriedly wiped at her eyes, and tried to get used to the light, attempting to see what was above her.

Oh, how she wished those doors would not have opened.

_Uh, can I go back down?_

Above her, circling her elevator box was a good number of boys – borderline men – looking down at her like inquisitive beasts.

She didn't dare to move, hoping that their eyes wouldn't catch hold of her. Maybe if she was still they wouldn’t see her, like lizards. Or was it dinosaurs?

Unfortunately, they weren't either.

"So? So? Whats he look like?"

"Is it another kid, again? Or does he have actual muscle on him?"

"Wait a minute... that shank has really long hair..."

"No way! Is that a girl? How long has it been since we've _seen_ a girl?"

"Is she hot? I bet they sent up a pretty one!"

"A girl? Yes! I'm calling dibs!"

"Eh? Shut it you piece of klunk! If anything _I_ should get dibs!"

Oh no. This would not do at all.

_They've never seen a girl? I need to get the fuck outta here. Like yesterday._

"Shut it, you shanks! And back up, we don't need to be suffocating her!" A bald, dark shinned boy yelled out. He looked to be a tad older than the rest, with a killer scowl on his face.

"Well, she-greenie, don't worry about them, they're just surprised to see who we've got this month." A boy standing to his right kneeled down to the edge of the elevator box as he spoke, and sent the mystery girl a warm smile.

_Who you got this month? What does that even mean? Who are you? Where am I!?_

She so desperately wanted to ask her questions, but instead she kept silent and her back pressed against the corner of the box, eyes scanning for an escape route. She may have been able to plaster a level-headed, blank look on her face, but she was screaming on the inside, needing to get out of this terribly vulnerable position.

_You may seem nice enough, but I'm alone, horribly outnumbered, and can't remember a damn thing. I need to get out of here, and somewhere where I can get a grip on myself!_

She watched the tousled-haired blonde leaning into the box with suspicious eyes, her hands clutching at the strap securing the bag to her body. She pressed herself even further into the corner when the boy reached his hand out, palm up, in an inviting gesture.

"I'm Newt, it’s nice to meet you. Do you remember anything?" He said in a deep accent, smiling down at her.

She silently shook her head, eyeing his hand warily.

"Don't worry, it happens to all of us, you should get your name back within the next few days. Would you like to come out of the Box? It would be easier to explain everything if I weren't crouched like this." He said as he sent her another warm smile. The first dark skinned boy and a few others were herding the other guys away from the box, yelling about getting back to work and something called a slammer.

The girl tentatively stood up, moving slowly and keeping an eye on 'Newt'. She moved closer to him, reaching out slowly to clasp his hand so he could help her out of the box that seemed much bigger now that she was standing. Her head didn't even come to the top of the Box.

He pulled her out without much trouble. His hand having a stronger grip than she anticipated, since she noticed he was a little on the skinny side, with dark eyes and a strong favoring for his left leg.

Once the girl stood firmly on solid ground, she took a moment to analyze herself and her surroundings, ignoring the boy’s curious gaze. She seemed to be standing in a square prairie like area with four humongous concrete walls boxing them in, with a forest taking up a great chuck of the land. She was wearing a short sleeve loosely fitted green shirt and baggy pants that rode low on her hips, barely kept on by a worn belt. She was wearing one fingerless glove and bandages wrapped around the other hand. And also-

_No shoes. Perfect._

As she marveled at the blessing of no shoes – seriously, she had a hunch that she didn't fancy shoes – 'Newt' followed her gaze down to her feet. As he opened his mouth to begin explaining to her that they may have shoes for her, her eyes caught sight of a huge opening in the middle of one of the four ginormous walls of concrete. As he pointed back to a large sized building with hammocks set up around it, her eyes darted around to all the _boys and men_ watching her and verified the belief that there were no girls in this place.

As this _idiot_ turned around to lead her to the building he said the shoes were in – and in the process, taking his eyes off her for _half_ a second – she darted off like a bullet.

She felt the air ripping through her hair, smelled the fresh grass beneath her feet and the distinct smell of _dude_ around her, and heard the frantic shouts of the boys behind her, telling her to _stop no come back you don't know what's out there you'll get killed!-_

She felt a hand reach her left shoulder and grab it. Out of pure instinct, she slowed and whirled to her left, bringing that arm up to dislodge the random boy's grip. She brought up her right hand, letting his momentum bring his face to her open palm, creating a loud _smack!_ Before he reared back, yelped, and clutched his gushing nose.

The altercation seemed to last a minute, but was only a second. Over the freshly injured, crazy-browed boy's shoulder, the girl caught sight of the others quickly closing it.

_Oh fuck no!_

Her fight or flight mode kicked in and she spun on her heel, and fled as quickly as possible. She clutched the strap of her bag with one hand as she ran away from the shouts, away from the eyes watching her-

And straight into the Maze.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm really excited about this story (actually I just can't get it out of my head) so I shall update once more! Thanks for the support! I received more than I thought I would, seriously.
> 
> Now that I'm sure about this story, I just wanna mention that this is a definite AU and is totally not going to follow the original storyline... just a lil bit. My OC's appearance changes a lot of stuff soooooooo... I'm also going off of the movie character's appearances and going to wing the others. (Like Thomas does look like Dylan O'Brien, etc.)
> 
> EDITED OCTOBER 2018: I did take out Newt’s POV from the prologue, because when I reread it, all I thought was “where the fuck did his POV come from? It’s her chapter!” Are you guys okay with the revision? I feel so much better about the story already.
> 
> Warnings: Curisng? Is shank a curse word?
> 
> Disclaimer: Only if I did man... but I don't.

 

She was just standing there, looking around the Glade with suspicion and wonder, letting Newt and the others get their first actual look at her.

She was short, and had curves that the guys haven’t seen in forever. (They’re amnesic after all.) Her dark hair cascaded around her face and reached the bottom of her shoulders blades, wavy and thick. As Newt brought her up out of the Box, several different shades of black and brown could be seen in her hair, maybe even some red in the right light. Her piercing blue eyes darted all over the Glade as she righted herself, and greatly contrasted with her tanned skin.

Alby had herded the other boys away, knowing that everyone watching her too closely would freak her out. It happens to every greenie, but her being a girl... The panic would be more intense, obviously.

He never expected her to take off across the Glade the moment Newt took his eyes off of her. She practically  _flew_  across the grass, faster than he's ever seen  _Minho_  move. Gally had the luck of being close to the Maze doors, off the collect wood with two other Builders for the bon fire tonight. He ran after her, just barely able to grab her shoulder before she turned and punched him in the face.

As the Keeper of Builders fell like a ton of bricks, blood coming out of his nose and getting all over his hands and shirt, the girl turned tail and ran into the Maze.

"Gally! Gally, you alright man?" Jeff shouted as he kneeled next to the Builder, a dark skinned hand coming up with a cloth and pressing it to Gally's face.

Gally only grunted, muffled noises sounding suspiciously like 'klunking she-bean shank' coming from behind the cloth.

"Alby, we have to go after her! She'll die in the Maze!" A random voice rose up from the crowd of Gladers nearing the Maze doors. Alby knew this of course. They didn't even have time to tell the new girl the rules of the Glade.

"We can't go into the Maze, you know that! Only Runners are allowed, and they’re already out! We’re just going to have to wait for Nick and the Runners to get back." Alby said, locking eyes with his temporary second-in-command Newt. The blonde boy nodded, jaw and fists clenched as he limped up to the group. They all knew the rules. They were there for a reason.

"But she's a girl! We can't wait for Nick and them, 'cuz they might be late! What do we do then?" Another voice this time.

"Now, look the rules-"

"Alby! Alby!" A boy ran up to the group from the homestead, waving a Runner's vest as if it were a gold trophy. He was already wearing another one, because he was a Runner too, but the redness around his nose and eyes gave away why he wasn't doing his job.

"You sure, John?" Alby asked, knowing that the boy probably felt like klunk.

"We need to go get the she-bean, right? We can't waste time." John said in a slightly nasally voice, smiling to offset the seriousness of the situation.

Alby nodded, quickly donning the Runners vest as he turned to Newt.

"You're in charge until Nick and the others get back. We should be back a hour before the doors close, whether we have the girl or not." He stated, his customary scowl gracing his features as he backed away into the Maze, John in tow.

Newt nodded and turned away from the doors and to the Gladers who were watching the two go.

"Alright shanks, you heard 'em! Everyone get back to work. We still have supplies to unpack and to put away!"

* * *

 

"You're telling me a girl came up in the Box, and wasn't even here for two minutes before she punched a poor shank and ran into the Maze? You're kidding me, right?" Nick asked in disbelief, green eyes seeming to stare into Newt's soul. His dark brown hair was drenched in sweat, and face flushed from sprinting in the Maze.

"It was shucking crazy! She ran faster than I've ever seen  _Minho_  run! Alby went in after her with John - they should be back any minute now." Newt exclaimed just as Minho, the Keeper of Runners, passed them, eyebrow raised in question at the blonde.

At that moment, Alby and John ran back through the doors.

Almost eerily, all eyes snapped to the pair as they entered the Glade, the unspoken question loud enough to hear without ears. Alby shook his head and his eyes scanned the Glade for his leader. Once finding Nick with Newt and Minho, he turned to John and said something that Nick couldn't hear from this distance, but knew it was something along the lines of 'go get some rest, you look like klunk.'

Alby walked to the group as they made their way towards him, meeting him in the middle with raised eyebrows.

"We couldn't find a trace, even after three hours. It’s almost like she disappeared into thin air." Alby said, shaking his head with frustration etched into his tone. Even his regular scowl was a frustrated one.

"Wait, you're serious? We actually got a girl and you lost her?" Minho asked. The tall Asian boy had his hands on his hips, leaning slightly forward as he asked.

"Yes, didn't I just say that a minute ago? What are we going to do know? I really don't want to hear about how her body was found in the morning, or finding out she was Griever food." Newt grumbled as he ran his hands roughly through his blonde hair.

Nick sighed, "There's nothing we can do. The rules are simple. We can't go back in now, not after only one person, girl or not." He turned to Minho, "Tomorrow all of the Runners are going to focus of finding her... Or anything left of her."

* * *

 

The next morning, Nick, Newt, and Alby were at the doors to send off the Runners. Each one had been briefed on the goal for the day.

"Newt," Nick said, looking at the blonde boy out of the corner of his eye, "what did she look like?" He nodded to the runners, knowing that they all probably heard outlandish stories about the first female ever seen in the Glade.

Newt put a hand to his chin and looked up in thought. "She was short, barely even yay high and had a bag strapped to her," He raised his hand to barely touch his shoulder. "She also had really dark hair and big blue eyes. She was wearing Glader clothing, not really a surprise though-"

"I heard she was one of the most beautiful creatures  _ever seen_ -" a Runner in the back of the pack whispers to his partner.

"And that she had an  _awesome figure_ -"

" _AHEM!_ " Ably and Minho glared and the pair, practically burning holes into their faces.

"Are you sure we should send them?" Newt said, leaning slightly closer to Nick even though he didn't lower his voice.

Nick rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his dark locks, "It will be a miracle if she's even alive, all we're doing now is finding the remains."

Newt, looked at him sharply. "There's a chance-"

"No one has ever survived a night in the Maze. Not even the strongest of our Runners. I doubt a girl greenie will be able to." Alby spoke this time. He was scowling at the Runners still, his voice held a steely tone in it. He had already given up hope of finding the girl.

Nick turned back to Minho and the rest of the Runners. "Go ahead, we'll see you shanks later."

* * *

 

Needlessly to say, the Runners didn't find anything on that day. Nor the day after that. Or the day after that.

It was frustrating to Minho, because, even though its crude, usually the Runners can find at least  _some_  remains. Mostly just a torn up shirt or a Runner harness when one of his guys got trapped in the Maze.

Once he found a shoe, with the sock still in it.

But they found  _nothing_  of the girl. No clothes, no blood, not even the bag that she had. Minho had doubts that there even  _was_ a girl. Maybe everyone went crazy for two seconds?

That thought was put down though, after seeing Gally's face.

* * *

 

The next month, the Box came up a little late in the day.

The Gladers all surrounded the Box eagerly, the same questions running through all of their heads.

_Will it be another girl? Or will it be a boy? Will we ever get another girl again? Will we get two greenies? One to make up for the girl who ran away?_

Unfortunately for them, when the doors of the Box opened, a skinny boy was revealed. Most Gladers groaned and went back to their jobs. Newt and Alby began to coax/drag out the newbie while Nick began ordering around those who would sort the supplies.

All was routine until a Track-hoe named Peter jumped down into the Box to get the supplies stacked on the left side. A tiny crate in the corner caught his eye was he leaned toward it, curious because the supplies usually come in larger boxes. He made a confused sound in the back of his throat when he saw the note taped to the top of it.

_For Her_

* * *

 

Newt raised an eyebrow when he heard the exclamation of "what the shuck is this?" as he handed off the greenie to a Slopper to get his hammock set up. He limped over, eager to see what the fuss was about.

All the guys who had been helping with the supplies were circled around a Bricknick named Will, who was holding a small box, and a track-hoe named Peter as he talked to Nick, waving his hands at the small box.

"It was just in the corner, small thing innit? Do girls not need much? Anyway, what are we gonna do with it?" Peter asked, confused gaze on Nick as the leader rubbed his chin as he thought.

"Do you think that the Creators even  _know_  she's dead? What if they think she's here? Should we open it?" another boy named Doug asked, a cook this time.

"No," Nick stated as Newt finally reached the group. "Just set it to the side. We'll figure it out after the supplies have been sorted.

Newt raised an eyebrow at his leader as Will set the box next to them and went along with the other Gladers to continue their work. It was funny, in a way, seeing the guys all worked up over a little box. Nick huffed and rolled his eyes at the unofficial official third in command.

"They're probably just messing with us. We finally get a girl and then we lose her immediately. Tch. Way to mess with the guys' morale." Nick was right. The Gladers' morale went down with the loss of the first girl. She may have only been there for a minute or two, but still, it hurt losing a Glader that fast.

"Even if they are... What do we do with her supplies?" Newt frowned at the box, thinking back to Doug's question. It was a common belief that girls needed a lot of stuff, or that's what they've gathered from their sparse memories. Were they wrong?

Nick went quiet for a while, staring at the box as if it had the answers to their questions. He suddenly looked at the Maze doors as he came to his conclusion. 

_He does that a lot,_  Newt thought as he watched his leader. Nick was a quiet guy and a good leader, but when he had to make a decision like this he'd go even quieter for a little bit – won't even move sometimes. Then he'll snap back to reality as if he just wasn't staring into the unknown.

"We'll put it by the doors."

"What?" Newt asked, looking at Nick like he was out of his wits.

"When one of the Gladers dies, we put something by their graves, right? Like Minho putting those shoes by the Runner's grave. Maybe we should do something like that, just at the Maze doors?" Nick's face was scrunched up and he waved his hands at the doors.

"In the doors? We can't keep the box there forever."

"Of course not, shank! Just for the day tomorrow and then mark a grave for her and put it there!" Nick rolled his eyes again and huffed.

"Whatever, we're doing it! It can also be a reminder to not go into the Maze. Like we haven't been saying that klunk for the past two years..." The leader muttered the last part, kicking at the ground as he mentally calculated their time in the Glade.

_One greenie every month, 21 gladers now, and 5 dead gladers, not including the girl... 27 months?_

"Sounds good." Alby joined them now, "We'll also keep an empty space on the Wall for her." He raised an eyebrow, getting a nod from Nick.

"I'll tell Minho to take the box up there when the Runners go out."

* * *

 

The next morning was somber. Most of the Gladers were up earlier than usual, watching Minho carry the girl's supply box to the Maze doors and leave it just inside. With a wave the Runners were off and the Gladers began their day, the fresh morning dew cooling the waking hours just after dawn.

_It seems so sentimental, now that I think about it._  Nick thought as his eyes stayed on the doors a moment longer – or more precisely the girl's box. He turned away, knowing they had work to do.

* * *

 

Joe was a Bagger and he liked his job. He's been in the Glade for a few months now, and can honestly say he couldn't see himself doing anything else. Some think that the Baggers creepy, but Baggers are mostly just quiet.

Joe rubbed a hand through his damp black hair as he headed to his post by the Maze doors after his morning shower. He wished he could just go back to sleep – he was supposed to be sleeping anyway – but everyone insisted on waking up for their weird memorial klunk for the dead girl.

Don't get him wrong, it’s not like he didn't like the girl, it’s just that they all saw her for two seconds and when she dies everyone freaks out. Now because his Bagger buddies wanted to all get up,  _he_ had to get up and start duty early.

Joe sulked up the slight incline of the Glade to the Maze doors and almost reached his post when he saw it. His mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide.

_Where the bloody shuck did her box go?_

 


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Oh man, aren't I happy! Thanks for the great reviews! I wanted to post this part, cuz I've got a lot written, but I'm stuck. I think I just keep looking at the first part of this chapter and saying "I should post this now" to myself, but the second part isn't done. I've just decided to separate in into two chapters (not like it's not long enough already.) There's this funny feeling I have telling me that most of my stuff will be posted in 2k-3k bursts. Anymore than that and my brain shuts down.
> 
> -Reviewer Responses. Skip a bit if you don't wanna read them. -
> 
> Elisablackcat – Thanks for the advice! I was actually debating putting more of my OC in the beginning of the story, but I just couldn't decide if I should completely shroud her in mystery. I only know her from my pov, so I don't really know what you guys get from the glimpses. The readers have spoken, though! So thank you for helping one half of myself convince the other half that more she-bean is good.
> 
> Onyx628 – Thank you! I was worried that people wouldn't like my OC (cuz some OCs are total biotches, ya know), and I'm thankful for the support. Also... hehe... I may not likecharacter death, but... sometimes it must be done. Hehe. (suspicious noises)
> 
> Zoey24 – Thanks for the support! I'm glad you like the setup I'm establishing. I think I may stick with the girl/boy chapters, just because it is hard to shift between their mindsets so often in one sitting. I'm glad to hear you laughed, too! I crack myself up sometimes when I'm writing, but I know my humor isn't for everyone, so. The parts that go along with the beginning of Maze runner may be the same, like Thomas's intro to the Glade, but it will go off track fast.
> 
> -Reviewer Respones DONE!-
> 
> So, anyway, please review! I'm not an avid writer, so my style is still shaky and sucks. I feel like I'm using too many dramatic pauses, commas, and compound sentences, etc. Please tell me how I'm doing, so I can make it better for you guys, alright?
> 
> OCTOBER 2018: EDITED! How interesting that I go back and read my own stuff.. and then make immediate changes. True growth.
> 
> "Talking"
> 
> Thoughts
> 
> Flashback
> 
> Warnings: Cursing! She-bean has a potty mouth.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Maze Runner, only my made up people.

 

She ran wildly through the corridor, taking turn after turn until she realized-

_Am I in a FUCKING MAZE? What the hell is the matter with these people?_

She knew in the back of her mind that the people in the maze would  _know_ the maze, but it wasn't until  _maybe_  her tenth left before she stopped to breathe.

Hands on her knees, she panted and tried her hardest to keep it quiet. The air was a little humid, but cool, which soothed her tired lungs. She strained her ears to listen for any yelling or running, but heard nothing. She slowly stood up straight to finally take in her surroundings.

She was a few paces away from a four-crossway intersection, the left pathway being narrower than the right. She noticed that all the walls and even the ground were the same grey, smooth concrete, and that the walls were not at a uniform height. In fact, the wall on her right changed its height at the intersection.

_Its almost as if a kid stuck walls made of Lego blocks together randomly... the hell are Lego blocks?_

She shook her head and eyed the thick green  _vines_  that covered almost every surface. Seriously, she could barely even see the wall in some areas.

The girl suddenly jerked, her head craning to her left in order to hear a loud yell somewhere in the dank, eerie maze more clearly. She began to panic, thinking of a place to hide, but-

_There are only walls! I can't hide in a corner, because with the number of guys I left back there, they could look in every nook and cranny. They know this place! The probably already know where I am..._

She stumbled to the side and away from the shouts. Her left hand clutched at the strap of her bag, and she placed her right on the wall when it brushed the greenery by accident. She turned to study the vines, catching one in her hand to examine it.

**"You know what sucks about people?" a voice came from above her.**

**"Hmm?" She turned her head towards the boy's voice, eyes on the device she was figuring out in her hands.**

**"That people never look up."**

She jerked again, this time out of a memory.

_What the hell was that? Who was that? Wait a minute... That's it! They'll never try to look for me up in the vines! 'Specially if I'm high up and in the shadows. Yes! Try to catch me now, bitches!_

She grinned triumphantly before she spun on her heels, fist pumping while she did so. The girl dashed through the narrower left pathway, looking up at the top of the walls to find the best spot. There! Towards the middle of the narrow corridor - which was shaded nicely, by the way - was a big, thick group of vines perfect for hiding in. She reached out and grabbed a handful of vines in each hand before freezing.

_How long will I be hanging there? HOW will I hang there? I'm already tried from running. There's little chance I can hang from fucking vines while hiding from a cult of dudes for hours on end._

She took a step back; vines still in hand, and gave them a hard yank. She did this repeatedly, and to several clumps of the vines to test their integrity. She rolled one in her gloved hand, feeling how fluid in was, bending easily in her grip, yet it was still strong enough to survive her yanks.

_It seems just like rope. I could tie it around my waist? No, that would be uncomfortable. Maybe tie it into a swing I could sit in? Nah, I don't have enough damn time for that. They'll probably notice a girl in a vine swing too. A harness? If I can get up high enough, and somehow hold myself up with one hand while I make one with the other... It's the only thing I've got._

She nodded determinedly, ice blue eyes set in front of her as the stepped back from the vines and made waving motions with her hands. To any ordinary onlooker, they'd think her crazy, but she was just working out how the harness would fit.

Once the girl decided on a harness design, she pressed her back against the opposite wall and ran forward, gaining just enough momentum to run up the wall two steps before she grabbed ahold of the vines. The dark haired girl pulled herself up to nearly the top of the wall, not even thinking of the risks of falling and dying.

When she reached her desired height, the girl grabbed a closely grown chunk of vines and spun around repeatedly, bumping her body not so nicely against the rock wall. She stopped after the seventh twist, faced the opposing wall, and maneuvered the weaved vines behind her and over her bag to begin weaving her harness. Her bare right foot went back to separate the weaved vines from the unweaved ones and brought the clump up. With her weaker, bandaged left hand she brought up the vines between her legs and clenched her legs together. The girl then divided the clump into two – bringing her knees up to put one clump over her left leg and one over her right.

In an  _impossible_ move, she reached her left hand behind her, under the bag and grabbed the vines on her right leg and brought them around her waist and laid them over her lap. She grabbed the original vines above her head and switched hands to do the same with the vines over her left leg. The girl did this repeatedly, sometimes bringing the vines up between her legs again before she was able to do some intricate knot she didn't remember learning in front of her.

With a great  _woosh_  of breath she finally let her arms down and immediately winced and shifted the makeshift harness between her legs.

_Yeaaah, not too comfortable. Anyways, great job, Jane!_

She blinked and shook her head.  _That's not it..._

_S._

_My name starts was an S._

* * *

 

After about 20 minutes of hanging in the vines recovering from her hard work, and listening for the enemy, the girl swung the bag she had around to her front and carefully unzipped it.

The bag was a high quality one, being made out of thick canvas and having a tough metal zipper. When the zipper of the dark beige bag gave way, she had to scramble for a second to not drop anything. That 30 ft. drop was no joke.

_FUCK YES! I got a knife._

She grinned at the black metal in her hand. It was a four-inch 'flip knife' or something like that, but the girl had a hunch it would be easy for her to wield. She tucked it carefully into her pants pocket, paying special attention to use the clasper on the side of the blade.

 _Maybe I was good with knives during my Time Before..._ She patted her pocket as she looked back at the bag in her lap, seeing only one pair clothes like she had on at that moment, only a blue shirt and darker pants, some first aid stuff along with a pill bottle with little red tablets in it.

She pulled it out and looked at the label.  _Menstrual Negation._

_Oh my lord, thank you all! You are so wonderful, Miss Whoever-Put-These-Here!_

As she inwardly wept in joy, the girl took inventory of the rest of her gifts before she packed them away again, and slung the bag back around her shoulder. When she was finished, she ran her left hand through her hair, and took notice of the bandages wrapped around them.

The girl unpeeled the tape securing the stretchy, black bandages and slowly removed them to get a look at why her hand was bandaged. She made sure to memorize how the bandages were weaved around her fingers, but once she got it off-

Oh.

_Oh._

Hurriedly, her left hand and arm were wrapped again before she pulled off the black, leather, fingerless glove on her right.

 _I... I don't know how I feel about this. What is this?_  She shook her head, put the glove back on, and leaned against the wall. Too exhausted to even  _want_  to think about her discoveries. She grabbed the vines to her sides and behind her to pull them over herself to conceal her position.

And that's where she stayed.

* * *

 

It was about another two hours and a small nap before she got any signs of life in the maze... Other than the vegetation, that is.

Blue eyes snapped open as the voices and footsteps grew closer.

_They must either suck at hide and seek or not really care about finding me to join their cult, because I haven't heard a thing until now. How big is this fucking maze anyway?_

She tilted her head towards the right end of her pathway, which was the opposite end of the way she came.

 _With such a huge maze, I imagine they must have some sort of mapping system. Maybe that blonde idiot put a tracking device on me when he pulled my out of that damned elevator._ Her eyes narrowed.  _I never should have trusted that accent._

Just then, two boys turned the corner and jogged down her corridor. They were wearing similar clothes to the boys she ran from, but these guys had leather vest things strapped to their upper chests, and didn't particularly seem to be on the lookout for a confused female.

She froze her movements, letting her mouth fall open to take quiet breaths. She didn’t want them to look up.

"I could really use some of that shuck recipe Gally's got right about now," the one on the left panted out. He was a tall Asian boy with perfectly styled black hair.

"Just wait shank, you'll be gettin' some of that klunk tonight at the celebration," the other boy said. He was just an inch or two shorter than the first guy, with dark brown locks and vibrant green eyes.

_And oh so many muscles... Ugh, get you head screwed on straight, Sarah!_

Her brow furrowed and the shook her head slightly.  _No, that's not it either._

They jogged right past her and turned the corner at the other end of her hallway, going back the way she came.

_Celebration? What, do they make human sacrifices out of the people who come up the elevator or some shit like that? Good thing I got one of them in the face._

She leaned her head back onto the wall behind her and closed her eyes.

* * *

 

The maze girl woke up again, but this time from a vicious gnawing in her abdomen.

_I am so fucking hungry. Maybe I shouldn't have left the cult guys. Didn't those two say they were having a celebration? Sure, I'll join the club if I got some damn food. Lamb sacrifices? I'm down._

Her button nose scrunched up as something occurred to her.

 _When did I start thinking they were a cult? Maybe they are just nice guys living in a maze. That can be_ not _suspicious, right? They don't have to be hunting me down to hurt me like I've been thinking right?_

Time to face the music, apparently.

"HEY! Hellooooo! Anyone there!? I'm coming out now! I'm just doing it for food, though! Don't be getting any freaky ideas!" She yelled, wincing at the rasp in her voice.

Fingering her flip knife, the girl was about to cut herself down to go find the maze boys when she stiffened. A terrible feeling of foreboding filled her as she looked around, trying to find the source of her unease.

Suddenly a thundering boom filled the maze, echoing off of all the rock, making it louder than it probably was. A grinding sound echoed in the maze for a good 30 seconds before it stopped with another loud boom.

_What... What the fuck was that?_

She kept perfectly still for ten minutes before she pulled out her knife to cut through the vines suspending her in air. She turned to her left first, lowering the knife to cut her leg free, when movement in the distance caught her eye. She stared out of the corridor, barely seeing over the walls on the other end of the intersection, the way she came from, before she notice what bothered her.

 _IS THAT WALL FUCKING MOVING!? OH NO. OH GOD NO. THIS BITCH OF A MAZE_ MOVES _? I NEED TO GET BACK TO THOSE GUYS! Are they doing this? Those losers! Messing with a confused amnesiac!_

She stared in horror at the wall started shifting over, barely even hearing the grinding sound from this distance. She jumped slightly when the saw a section of the wall at the end of her corridor start moving towards the opposing wall and-

Sealed up the way she came.

The girl just stared blankly at the wall that just closed up her pathway, leaving her corridor a dead end.

 _It’s getting dark_ , she noted dryly as she slumped in defeat,  _it’s getting chilly_ , _and I'm not getting any food. Not like there is any in here._  And,  _I can't remember a damn thing. But that doesn't bother me as much as the NO FOOD thing. Man, oh man, once dawn hits I’m getting back to that green area and I'm eating all their food. If they say anything I'll just punch them. Again. If there's one thing I_ do _know, it’s that you don't mess with a hungry lion._

She smiled to herself and stared up at the darkening sky, imagining eating the lamb sacrifices as the maze moved around her. It was a gentle grumble, the sound that the maze made. Not a constant sound, but every few minutes another grumble would echo through the walls, some sounding as if they were on the other side of the maze. It was soothing in a way, because dead silence would have been worse.

Surprisingly, when looking at all the walls and vines, one would think it smelled bad and be dank and humid. The soft breeze carried the fresh scent of the vines though, and made it so that the humidity wasn’t heavy.

The girl listened to the maze and dozed, keeping her eyes up and on the stars beginning to twinkle in the sky. On the outside she was calm, but her mind was working fast, trying to analyze her glimpses of memories for any clues as to what the fuck was going on. It was peaceful, in a weird way.

_Whirrl CHAckINk!_

She tensed, eyes going wide as she ever so slowly turned her head towards the open end of the corridor.

 _There is no way this could get worse. Absolutely_ no way _._

There in the opening, was a gooey, spider-like, metal-legged monster twice the size of a horse, with a scorpion tail and an ugly, teethy face. It made unreal whirling noises and the tail was just dangling above its head, just waiting to stab a poor soul. The creature made its way into her dead end pathway, making ' _cachunk_ '-ing noises as its legs hit the ground.

_Is this what they were meaning by 'you'll die in there', 'cuz I think they're fucking right._

Then, when it was right beneath her position, the monster's ugly ass head tilted up at her.

_Well shit._

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, humans.
> 
> I'm happy to see of the support for this story! I've just been getting so much that I get excited for writing. In HS writing was not fun at all. Anyway here's the third chapter (it’s kinda boring) feat. the dudes of the Glade and a bit of a time skip. No worries, we haven't left S yet. I think the next chapter may be shorter, but I might just combine the next two parts into one update... you never know~
> 
> OCTOBER 2018: EDITED! Hehe, hey guys.
> 
> "Talking"
> 
> Thoughts
> 
> Flashback
> 
> Warnings: Uh, shankiness?
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own TMR!

 

He was flying across the field and away from the eyes and the jarring sneers. He didn't know where he was going or who he even was, but he had to get away.

"Hey, we got a Runner!" A voice shouted behind him. It was laughing at him, just like the others-

And then he tripped.

The dark haired boy tumbled on the grass, rolling until he landed on his stomach in a painful heap. Slowly, he rose to his knees as he quelled the nausea in his stomach. The boy finally looked up at his surroundings and took in the  _gigantic walls_  fencing in the green area. Once he stood, his eyes caught sight of the huge doors before a hand came down on his shoulder.

* * *

 Joe and another Bagger named Tim relaxed at their posts by the Maze doors as the green bean tripped. Joe just let out an exasperated sigh, and Tim barked out a laugh at the sight.

* * *

 He was in a cage.

Well, it was more like a big hole in the ground with woven wood and sticks for bars. He leaned up to the edge of the odd prison and looked out at the area around him. It was so green. Green fields, green forests on the other side of the area, green vines on the massive walls. He saw goats, a cow, numerous boys milling about, and those same doors that split one of the huge rock walls that enclosed the area.

The dark haired boy was staring at the doors when something just moved in front of him. He jerked back so hard that he fell against the opposite wall of the jail.

A another boy squatted in front of the 'door' of his prison. He had dark brown hair that was long enough to fall into his green eyes and just looked at the greenie through the bars.

Finally, after a few moments, the boy tilted his head and said, "Hey, greenie. I'm Nick. Now, do you remember anything? Names, places, people – anything."

The boy clenched his fists as he tried to remember  _anything_ , but nothing surfaced. No names, no places,  _no memories._  Who was he? Who were these guys? Why did he come up that elevator thing and  _why couldn't he even remember his own name? "_ No. I – I can't remember anything. Why can't I – "

"Hey, relax. It happens to everyone who comes up that box." The boy shifted back onto his heels and moved to unlatch the door before raising an eyebrow at the amnesiac.

"You're not gonna run again, are you?"

When the greenie shook his head, the door was opened all the way and he was ushered into the Glade.

* * *

 "So, this is the Glade." Nick waved his arms around him as the greenie watched. He was leading the new guy around the Glade, letting him gawk at their home. "Every month a greenie like yourself comes up, no memories, just a name. That's all they'll let us keep anyway-"

"They?"

"Whoever sent us here." Nick watched the greenie as he said this. "Anyway, the system we made works. We take care of each other, grow our own food – besides the meat – build our own shelter, and 'They' send us anything else we need in the Box." He waved his hand in the general direction of the supply Box as he took the greenie through the Glade. There were still some guys unloading the supplies.

Nick stopped in a spot that had a good view of the entirety of the Glade. "Everyone has a job and everyone does their job. Each job has a Keeper who's kind of like a supervisor. We have the Track Hoes –" He pointed at an area off to the right with rows and rows of plants, "who are the farmers and gardeners of the Glade. Their Keeper is Zart." He singled out a tall, burly boy with curly blond hair yelling something to another Track Hoe. "And there's the Slicers in the Bloodhouse," he then indicated a dank-looking building connected to the livestock pens on the far left, "Butchers basically. Winston's the Keeper of that." He looked at the green bean with raised eyebrows. "Watch out for their humor, 'specially that shank Winston. It’s kinda creepy."

The greenie nodded and couldn't help a smile at Nick's haunted look and tone.

"Then we've got the Builders and their Keeper Gally. He's the one who pushed you earlier." The greenie scowled at this information and Nick could only roll his eyes.

"Hey, that slinthead saved your ass. Anyway they build stuff, obviously." He pointed out a few guys who were, well, building. "There's also the Brincknicks who are like the Builders, but they focus of repairs. Gally keeps them also." Nick jutted his chin at the blond, built Keeper with crazy eyebrows who was working with another guy to weave sticks together. "He's an ass, but he means well. Sometimes."

Nick then pointed to the impressively large building with several hammocks around it, about fifty yards in front of them. "This is the Homestead. You'll sleep and keep your stuff here. The Keepers have their own rooms, and that's also where the Med-jacks are. Clint and Jeff are the 'doctors', so if you ever get hurt, just see them. Then there are the Baggers and their Keeper Jacob." He was able to point out a dark skinned boy talking to two others. "They're like the police of the Glade. They'll break up fights, guard the doors, and throw people in the Slammer, which is where you just were. They also take care of the corpses."

The greenie’s head whipped towards Nick in alarm at hearing this. Nick just waved off the look. "They haven't actually had to do that in, ah, over a year? Yeah. So don't panic, green bean." Nick then pointed at a building between the Homestead and the Bloodhouse. "The Kitchen. Frypan and his cooks make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We've even got bells for those times." Nick gave the greenie a droll look. "Beware."

"And, lastly, but definitely  _not_  the most unimportant, the Sloppers. Their Keeper is Sam. They clean everything from laundry to toilets. They're cool. Most look down on them, 'cuz that's the job you get if you suck at everything else. I, personally, am grateful to have them." Nick popped his hands onto his hips and turned to the greenie. "You'll begin tryouts for all the jobs tomorrow. You'll start with the Tracks, and then-"

"What do you do?" The greenie asked.

Nick gave him a cheery grin. "None of them! I'm in charge around here. Now come on, I gotta introduce you to someone." Nick grabbed the greenie's shoulder and pulled his over to a pair of guys talking near the Box.

"The one on the left is Alby. He's the second-in-command. Whenever I'm not around, he's in charge." Alby was a dark skinned boy with what seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face. He had his arms crossed over his chest and head tilted at the boy on the right. "The other is Newt. He's the unofficial third in command. We didn't need one, but he kinda takes charge when neither Alby nor myself is around. He also helps Alby when I'm not here, but on regular days he's with the Track Hoes." Newt was a taller boy with tousled blond hair and dark chocolate eyes. Nick slowed their place and grinned at the newbie.

"Don't ever say it to his face, but he's like the Den Mother of the Glade. Always taking care of everyone and such. In theory, the greenies should go to Alby for help, 'cuz I'm kinda busy running the Glade, ya know? But they usually run to Newt, 'cuz Alby scares everyone. So now he's in charge of the greenies during their first week."

When they finally reached he pair Nick motioned to the boys. "Newt, Alby, meet the greenie. Green bean, meet Alby and Newt."

Alby only responded with a firm nod while Newt shook the greenies had with a bright smile. In a thick accent he said, "That was some dash you made earlier. For a second a thought you had the chops to be a Runner... Well, until you face planted."

The three Gladers chuckled until the greenie turned with a confused look to Nick. "Wait, Runner?"

"Yep, green bean. Unfortunately for you, the Runners are chosen. No auditions there." Nick caught movement near the walls of the Maze and grinned. “Speak of the devil!”

All four of them looked at the entrance of the Maze. Thomas watched as a few boys exited the Maze, all wearing leather harnesses and looking sweaty and tired.

“One more thing before I let you free.” Nick told him before he turned to the other two.

 "Can one of you go get Chuck for me?"

Newt only smirked and nodded as he limped away. Alby, recognizing the end of the conversation, turned back to the supplies he was helping sort (ordering around other Gladers, actually.)

"Come on, I'll show you the Peak."

* * *

 "There're only three rules. One; Do your part. This only works if everyone is in on it. The second: never hurt another Glader. You'll just be asking to get thrown into the Slammer. And finally," Nick pointed to the Maze doors from his perch atop the scaffolding that overlooked the entire Glade. "Never leave the Glade."

The greenie had looked around in wonder, atop the tall ‘tower’ made of various wooden platforms, before staring at the doors Nick indicated. "Why? What's out there?"

Nick looked like he was about to answer before then heard a distant 'Nick!' come from below them.

Nick looked over the railing, previous seriousness gone as he grinned down at the Glader on the ground. "Haha! Chuck, my man. How's it going?"

The green bean looked over to see a young boy, about twelve years old, waving his hand. His curly dark hair bounced around his head and his cheeks, which still had a good amount of baby fat on them, were a healthy pink. The young Glader stood next to some supplies he had brought along.

"Let's go see the ex-greenie, greenie."

* * *

 "What are you doing? We're not allowed to leave!" Chuck said, grasping the new greenie's arm.

"S'ok, s'ok. I just wanna look." The greenie said, patting the kid on the hand as he steps towards the Maze doors. The corridor just inside the Maze was gloomy and spooky. The walls were tall enough to cast an eerie shadow on the path, and vines were hanging from the large concrete walls of the Maze, nearly covering all the rock.

"Greenie-"

"HEY!" Suddenly, two hands pushed at the newbie from his right side, launching him away from the Maze doors and onto the ground harshly. A shorthaired blond boy stood over him, his tan shirt stretched across his muscles, crazy eyebrows narrowed at the dark haired greenie.

"You better back up, newbie, or you might end up like the she-bean," Gally said.

The new kid kicked at his assaulter; jerkily standing up and taking care to keep some distance between them. He spun wildly around when he noticed voices coming from behind him. The Gladers were all headed his way, due to the other boy's attempts to calm him down.

"Woah, greenie! Calm, calm, ca-"

"No! What are you guys doing? Why won't you tell me what's out there?" The greenie waved his arm at the doors, dark eyes panicked.

"Listen, we're just trying to protect you-" Newt was cut off by a thunderous boom that came from the doors of the maze.

All eyes watch the great doors close; some wide, some with expectant looks, one in wonder. Once they finally closed, the Keeper of the Builders heavily patted the dazed greenie on the back.

"Next time, I'll let you leave."

Thomas heard another one of the guys, Alby, walk closer to him and lean in:

"Welcome to the Glade."

* * *

 "That's impossible." The newbie said in disbelief, his already light skin paling as he listened to the Maze changing. He and Newt were leaned against a log, watching the other Gladers celebrate the coming of a new greenie around a large bon fire.

"Changes everything night, mate," Newt said, shaking his head. "Listen, the Runners are the fastest and the strongest of us all, because when they go through those doors in the morning," He pointed his hand holding the jar of Gally's recipe to the doors on their left, "and they don't come back by the time the Maze closes, they're stuck out there all night."

The greenie was staring at the doors, hanging on every one of Newt's words.

"And no one has ever survived a night in the Maze."

The brunette glanced at Newt's face as the blonde stared at the bonfire the Gladers were surrounding.

"What's out there?"

To the greenie's question, Newt only grunted. When the greenie kept staring at him, the blond turned towards him and rolled his eyes. "How about this, we'll answer some of your questions in the morning. Okay, shank? You've still got to see the service and surprise."

The greenie's brow furrowed as he thought about Newt's proposal. _Great, more waiting... But what's the service? I don't think the surprise will be all that wonderful, either..._

The greenie nodded, letting it go to watch the Gladers celebrate. After a moment he turned back to Newt again. The blond almost huffed out a laugh at the brunette's unquenchable curiosity.

"Earlier, when Gally pushed me away from the doors-"

"Saved your life, you mean-"

"He mentioned something about a she-bean. What's a she-bean?" He continued softly, as if he could feel the heaviness surrounding the word. Newt stared at the newbie, searching his gaze, for what the amnesiac didn't know, before the blond sighed.

"The term 'she-bean' is given to a female Glader who comes up in the Box." Newt said, eyeing the new guy, knowing he had just opened the floodgates to even _more_ questions.

"Girl Glader? I thought it was all guys here?" The greenie asked, perking up as his eyes scanned the crowd of Gladers, like a girl was going to randomly pop out of the woodwork.

"There was. Once."

"What-"

"We'll tell you about it tomorrow, greenie... Anyway, this party is for you, ya' know. You're the guest of honor!" Ignoring the greenie’s protest, Newt only stood and hauled the 'guest of honor' up to his feet. "Let me show you around."

* * *

 Thomas. His name is Thomas.

He stared up at the wooden ceiling of the Homestead and smiled, happy that he finally remembered  _something_ , even if Gally literally knocked it into him.

Thomas closed his eyes and dreamed flashes of a past he doesn't remember.

* * *

 Newt woke Thomas up in the morning, telling him quietly to follow him. The greenie got up and rubbed sleep from his eyes, and look at the hammocks around him. Few were empty, but most still had Gladers sleeping in them.

He followed the limping third in command into the Deadheads, in the waking hours of dawn and too sleepy to protest, but awake enough to wonder what was going on.

"Newt? What's this?" Thomas stared at the glass cube-like window that was in embedded in the rock wall in amazement, his previous sleepiness gone in a flash.

"Just watch."

It took five minutes and several questioning glances at the blond before he saw it.

Thomas jerked back as the shadowy figure crashed into the glass, but didn't shatter it, surprisingly. He leaned forward to get a better look and almost wished he hadn't.

It looked like a spider – a gooey spider with an ugly set of teeth and metal legs, with a scorpion tail attached to it. He almost puked at its ugly face and how it produced all that disgusting slime.

"This is why you shouldn't ever go into the Maze. These things, Grievers we call them, come out after the doors close and tear anyone in the Maze to pieces."

Thomas turned towards Newt and followed him as he led him back to the Homestead.

"Those things kill us?"

"Yup."

"Has anyone ever met one of them before? Without the glass, I mean, in the Maze?"

"Not anyone who's alive right now."

"You guys've tried everything to get out of here, right? Like over the walls-"

Newt cut him off. "Tried it."

"Well, what about through the Box?"

Newt looked back at Thomas as they trekked back to the Homestead. "Of course we tried. We've been here for three years! We've had time to try  _everything_. Whatever you're thinking, greenie, we already did it. Our only chance – our  _only hope_  is through the Maze with the Runners. We just can't get caught by the Grievers."

Chuck met them at the back of the Homestead, near the restrooms and showers, excited eyes on the slightly green Thomas. The boy let Newt pass him as he waited for the greenie that had lagged behind to process the blonde’s words.

The kid's nose scrunched up. "You saw it, right? I almost klunked my pants when I did."

Thomas followed the younger, curly haired boy to the front of the more awake Homestead where Newt and Alby were standing. They were watching Nick, Minho, and the other Runners gather at the doors. The Asian boy was carrying a small box to the others and set it down just inside the doors when they opened. After a farewell from their leader, the Runners ran in the Maze.

"What's that?" Thomas asked, nodding his chin at the little ritual.

"We stressed not running into the Maze yesterday for a reason, greenie." Alby stated, face in his usual scowl, and eyebrow raised.

"A little over a year ago we got a greenie like we always do – came up the Box like the rest of 'em. Except when we finally got  _her_ ," Newt stressed the word at Thomas, "out of the Box, she took off the moment I took my eyes off her. She ran straight into the Maze. We never saw her again."

"They couldn't even find her body. No blood, nothing." Chuck added in cheerfully, still watching the box at the doors. It was weird, hearing a cherub-faced kid saying that in such a tone of voice.

"Come on, greenie. We've got to get breakfast and then get to Zart for you first day as a working Glader!" Thomas and Chuck followed Newt to the Kitchen while Alby stayed at the Homestead.

Chuck chatted amicably to the older Gladers as they walked. "Some shanks call it The Offering. Apparently, even though the she-bean passed, the Creators still send up stuff for her. I don't even think they know about her being gone, ya know?" Thomas raised an eyebrow at the term 'Creators', but took it in a stride.

"Why leave that stuff at the Doors then?" Thomas asked, just as intrigued about the Offering as Chuck was.

"We got a supply box for her the month after she died in the usual monthly delivery." Newt started. He couldn't help but smile at Chuck's enthusiasm, which had spread to the greenie, about the rumors. "Nick decided to leave it at the Maze doors for the day to pay respects. Scared the klunk outta Bagger Joe when it disappeared."

"What! It disappeared?"

"Yup!" Chuck replied excitedly. "I heard that Joe was the first up there after the Runners left, because of he had door duty. He freaked when he saw that the girl's stuff was gone."

Newt chuckled. "Damn shank blamed the Runners for taking it with them when they went into the Maze. They didn't, of course. Minho confirmed it." He turned until he was limping backwards to face the two and jabbed a finger at the doors. "It became a monthly thing, 'cuz everyone tries to catch who takes it. Bet you that at some point that box'll suddenly vanish by the end of the day. Even with everyone watching it."

"But how does it disappear? And why call it The Offering?"

Chuck had the audacity to huff and roll his eyes, "It  _vanishes,_ greenie! One moment it's there and the next,  _poof_! Like magic and its gone. Some shanks call it the Offering, 'cuz they think her ghost takes the box into the maze!"

 


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT'S UP? This chapter was actually hard for me to write, because it was one of those in-between chapters, you know? Like I have two detailed scenes in my head, but I need a chapter to go over the stuff in the middle, right? Ugh, it was torture. And I actually didn't give much thought to the rest of S's night, which was stupid. So, this chap is boring as hell and really just focuses on the rumors and such.
> 
> Its funny, because I was actually flipping through fb and I saw this picture of the differences between the original tomb raider Lara Croft and 2013 Lara Croft, and I must say that she reminded me a lot of my OC. Not completely, but the dark hair and skin and survivor instinct was on point. SO if you guys want a comparison that's not my horrible description, look her up.
> 
> Review Responses!
> 
> I love all my reviewer and thank you for your support and giggles!
> 
> Zoey24 – its funny, because I'm sitting here like "oh what a mystery I'm creating" and you come in and ask all these questions that are totally going to be answered soon. Well, it's a good thing this isn't a mystery fic or I'd be outta business!
> 
> On to other things, I hope everyone's Valentine's day went well.!
> 
> OCTOBER 2018: EDITED!!! Added a few things.. heehee!
> 
> "Talking"
> 
> Thoughts
> 
> Flashback
> 
> Warnings are the same as always!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own it...

 

The girl stared in growing horror at the unreal monster staring up at her. She made the mistake of letting out a squeak and flinching at the sight of its face.

The monster lurched forward at the sound, ran at the wall she was handing in front of, and attempted to claw its way up. It’s momentum only took it a few feet off the ground, but then it tried again.

She panicked and drove the knife she had in her hand into the bundle of vines knotted on her harness. While she sawed through the knot, the creature roared and spit at her, making whirling sounds and swinging its tail. It couldn't climb up all the way, because there was only so much momentum it could gain and its metal legs didn't look like they were made for climbing up vertical rock.

She grabbed the woven vines above her with her left hand and the knot was cut free. For a terrible second, she felt her body drop down, as if she were falling to the monster's clutches, before the vines she was grabbing onto caught her. She yanked herself up the rest of the wall and away from the spider-like beast and rolled onto the top of the Maze wall.

She panted and tried to calm her raging heart. She took a peak over the side of the wall and down at the beast as it continued its endeavor. She smiled at it and stuck her tongue out. It roared once more, almost as if it could sense her smugness, and turned to rush out of the dead end.

She frowned as it left, knowing that it could probably find its way up to her if it jumped onto the shorter walls connecting to her wall. She stood up quickly and cut the rest of the harness as she kept an ear out.

_What do I do now? There can't be only one monster in this big ass maze! Those guys were in the middle of it, I'm sure of it! I can hide, or I can just keep running... Or I can find those weirdoes, again. I absolutely prefer the 'might be a part of an evil cult' guys that can give me food to an unknown number of the metal-demon-spider things._

Mind made up to find the maze boys; she looked all around her to see if she could find the center of the maze. Mentally thanking the menstrual negation gods that she was on one of the taller maze walls, she finally caught sight of a corner of the tall, thick walls that she  _knew_  surrounded the safe haven. Unfortunately for her-

_Don't fucking tell me those are the CLOSED MAZE DOORS. That must have been those huge booming sounds! I cannot be stuck here with these death bugs!_

She could only look in horror at the closed doors for a second before a beast roared behind her. She whirled around and watched as the monster leapt from wall to slightly taller wall to reach her. She turned on her bare heel and ran to the intersection of the wall and jumped down to the next wall. She didn't wait to see the monster overcome her original wall to follow her.

The next hour was just straight running, jumping, and freaking out. The girl was surprised to see that the monster didn't move as fast as she anticipated. It was actually  _slower_ than her. The thing was... it knew the maze. She wouldn't hear its roaring and clicking for a second, and suddenly it was coming from a corridor on her side.

She had long ago abandoned the wall tops to run in the maze. When she had run into a dead end and didn't even hesitate to run up the wall and climb it. The adjacent wall was short so she hopped onto it and jumped over the empty space to the next wall on the other side,  _passing over another fucking spider beast._

Then there were three in this little game of tag.

She could barely see in the dark maze. He bare feet ponded over the ground and her breath came in fast pants. The amnesiac was just gaining distance between her and her monster buddies when she turned a corner and  _fucking tripped._

The brunette let out a startled cry as she went rolling and yelped when her elbow, or more precisely her funny bone, hit the edge of something. This was not funny. Not funny at all. She opened her shut-in-pain eyes to quickly analyze where she was. It didn’t even take her a second to realize that her body was nearly under a wall.

 She nearly cheered in victory as she saw the beautiful hiding spot, brilliantly covered in vines. It was as if the wall was cut unevenly. Instead of being one flat wall, there was a long crawl space along the bottom of it, just large enough for her to lay comfortably. The overgrowth of vines made a curtain over the space, completely concealing it. She scooted herself into the horizontal space just before the monsters came barreling around the corner.

 _These assholes are smart,_ she thought as the one in front pulled itself to a stop when it saw that it lost her. From her vantage point, she could only see its weird legs move down the way she tripped and slowly past her, the clicking of its steps loud as it went past her face.

She didn't dare make a sound, nor did she even move,  _even breathe_ , when the second one followed its peer and stop right in front of her.

The first beast continued forward, ignoring the pathways leading off the corridor as the second grumbled. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when the first made a shrieking noise back at it, not even turning around. The second seemed to huff before it turned down one of the pathways, and away from her.

She wanted to sign in relief, but didn't. The blue-eyed girl knew that feeling secure could just get her killed. She settled for a mental fist pump and she smiled smugly at the beast as it left.

_Your hide and seek game is weak, punk ass bitches._

* * *

 

_I wonder if the monsters are tasty._

She was still hiding in her spot. The pangs in her stomach were getting stronger as she lay there, staring at the vines in front of her. The girl had felt betrayed when she saw that some vines growing on the ground was what tripped her. She depended on them for support and that's when they do to her? How dare they.

To spite them she pulled out her trusty knife in shining armor and cut a vine hanging in her face.

To her joy, vine juice immediately dribbled out of the vine. She was so hungry, she didn't even care that it was an unknown plant. She stuck the vine end into her mouth and began sucking out the juice.

_Oh my lord, it takes like cucumber juice. Is this for real?_

The girl hungrily bit down on the plant, but couldn't bite through the skin. She used the knife to cut a slice off the vine and popped it into her mouth.

_Why does it taste like zucchini?_

And for the next hour, this girl managed to eat all the vines in reach. Well, all except for the ones concealing her position at least.

* * *

 

"You're joking. You guys think a  _ghost_  takes it?" Thomas deadpanned.

The boys were sitting near the gardens now as they ate their breakfast of eggs, ham, and some other unidentifiable stuff. Well, except for Newt. He learned his lesson about Frypan's food, so he stuck to an apple.

Chuck nodded excitedly as he chewed. He loved hearing the ghost stories, and he loved being able to tell the new greenie all about the mysterious ghost.

"Of course, the claim of ghosts in the maze isn't baseless. For a while, no one even thought there was a ghost until the hauntings started happening." Newt replied, letting Chuck chew and swallow without fear of choking in his excitement.

"Hauntings. What." Thomas couldn't believe what he was hearing. It’s not that he was  _afraid_ of ghosts. No, no nothing like that...

"The mystery started with nothing being found right? After she ran into the Maze? But it really started getting weird when the box went missing. I heard that the rumors of her ghost actually started happening when the singing started." Chuck couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Thomas's widening eyes and shifty gaze.

" _Singing?"_

"Yep." Newt chuckled at the nervously sweating greenie. "Sometimes during the day, and even sometimes at night, her ghost will sing in the Maze. You hear about it mostly from the Runners, because they're in the Maze. Every once in a while, though, it's loud enough to hear in the Glade."

Thomas was now  _thoroughly_ freaked out. "Now I know you guys are messing with me!"

"Seriously!" Newt swallowed a piece of apple as he continued. "The Runners aren't really sure what she sings about. Minho says he recognized some songs from somewhere, like maybe he heard them before coming here, but other than that..." he shrugged and continued to eat the apple in his hand.

Chuck leaned closer to Thomas, giving him a creepy grin and wiggling his fingers. "For a while a lot of people thought the Runners were lying and just trying to cover up them taking the box... Until Frypan started getting haunted."

"W-what!  _She's in the Glade?"_  Thomas squeaked and started breathing heavier. No, he's just cautious. Ghosts don't scare him.

"Well, more like the Kitchen was getting haunted. Frypan took it personally though, because the Kitchen is his territory." Newt interjected. He then pointed back to the Kitchen across the Glade behind him. "One wall has just rows and rows of shelves for the pots and pans. Well, about a fortnight after the first disappearance of the box, Frypan went to go start preparing breakfast. Was furious when he saw that  _every single_ pot and pan were turned upside down."

"They couldn't figure out who did it though." Chuck continued for him, "Who would get up in the middle of the night, and get past the Bagger night shift to go turn over pans? Everyone knows not to mess with Frypan's Kitchen. Besides, pans are loud and Frypans the first one up anyway."

"That, coupled with the singing, made a lot of people believe it was a ghost."

"But that's not enough to believe in a ghost, right? There's no way that there's a ghost." Thomas tried to wave off the notion.

"Don't let Nick hear you say that." Chuck replied, stuffing another piece of ham into his mouth. "He swears by the Glade that he's met her before."

"What? When? In the Glade?" Thomas asked.

Newt shook his head. "One of the Runners was sick a few months after her disappearance. Nick subbed in for him and met her in the Maze. The story goes," Newt leaned back on a hand as he watched Thomas's reactions in amusement, "When he and Minho split up in the Maze, he started talking to himself about our next escape effort."

He pointed back at the Box. "Remember asking about going down the Box? He volunteered to go down himself. Apparently her ghost thought it was a shuck idea. Called him, and I quote, 'a hot imbecile." Newt couldn't help but snort. "I don't think she actually called him hot, but whatever. Anyway, she said that sending down a person first was stupid. So, instead of sending Nick down, we sent a bundle of sticks wrapped around a freshly severed goat leg, you know, in case there were heat sensors or something-"

"Wait! He's seen her?" Thomas cut him off, while Chuck looked down at his last piece of ham with a disgusted look.

"That's why he thinks she's a ghost. He didn't see her, just her voice echoed in the Maze. Anyway, it's a good thing that we listened because not even twenty feet down the dummy was sliced in half. That could have been Nick."

Thomas and Chuck were slightly green as the group went quiet. The new Glader tried to process Newt's words. A Glade without the friendly leader seemed weird.

"Enough of that. Let's get to work, yeah?" Newt stood up and helped the two newer boys to their feet. "Thomas-"

"Newt!" The trio turned to look at Alby's stern figure walk up to them. "I'm going to take the greenie off your hands for a little bit, okay?"

Newt nodded with understanding and led Chuck away.

"What's this about?" Thomas asked the second in command.

"I'm going to show you the Wall."

* * *

 

"It wasn't always like this."

Thomas glanced at Ably as the older Glader led him towards the Maze doors. Ably had just handed him a knife and told him to follow.

"The Glade had dark times. We lost a lot of boys to panic and fear. This system we have now is what keep some of them sane. The normalcy and the hope is what keeps us going."

Thomas glanced at the mystery box as they passed the Maze doors. There was something eerie about seeing such a small box just inside the Maze. Ably stopped about 30 feet to the right of the large opening, right in front of a piece of wall littered with names of the Gladers. They were all carved into the wall, some larger than others, and five roughly crossed out.

"You're one of us now, and if you respect us and the Glade, we can keep our peace." Ably nodded to the all of names.

Thomas's eyes glanced over the few names that had been scratched off, "What about them?"

"Like, I said. Dark times."

The greenie read the names on the wall for a while, then nodded. Tightening his grip on the knife, he found a nice sized empty space, and got to work.

* * *

 

Thomas was working on the M of his name when Alby spoke again. "What job were you thinking? I know Nick gave you a run down, but I just wanna let you know that even though you'll be given offers from the different Keepers, it's your final decision."

The greenie glanced up at the older Glader's face, surprised to not see a scowl.

"I wanted to be a Runner, actually."

"Makes sense."

At the newbie's surprised glance he continued, "You're curious. You'll only have to worry about getting chosen. If you succeed you'll be free to run your section as you wish."

Thomas swallowed harshly.

Alby raised his eyebrow, "Oh? What's the matter, shank?"

"A-ah, are all those stories true? I mean about the ghost?"

Ably looked away and gave a rueful smile, "Unfortunately."

Thomas finished his M and began on his A. "Why unfortunately?"

Ably sighed and leaned more of his weight on the wall next to Thomas. "I like peace, always have. Those rumors may seem all fun, but they brought the Glade into a huge argument."

Thomas's eyebrows shot up as he stopped his work to watch the second in command. "Why? How? They're not that bad... right?"

"Gally and the builders thought that with someone, or something, taking the box that they should just use those supplies instead of wasting them by putting them by the doors.  _Half_  of the Glade wanted to throw them in the Slammer for thinking it. Some actually believe there's a ghost that could hurt us. Or not help us."

"Help you?"

Ably gave the greenie a nod. "Ever since the she-bean passed no one's been stung by a Griever. Or died at all, actually."

"Stung?"

Ably nodded once more and squatted by the greenie. "Grievers sting you, and once they do you go through a painful process called the Changing. Not many survive, and it's incredibly painful. So, anyway, Nick decided to open the box."

Thomas decided to let the Griever thing go  _for now_. He was absolutely talking about with Newt and Chuck later.

"Was there anything we needed in it?"

"No. Nothing all that useful to us anyway. Just clothes that  _no one_  could have fit into, seeing that she was as tall as Chuck is now. Also some, " Alby coughed into his fist, "pills. And some basic medical supplies. Gally thought we should use it, but the Med-Jacks said they had enough already and if they took it anyway, they wouldn't take care of the Builders."

Thomas, who had turned back to his A, glanced back at Alby. "They're that scared?"

"They just didn't want to anger the 'ghost'. Frypan, on the other hand, threatened to not cook for  _anyone_ if they touched anything in the box, because he was actually getting haunted."

"So what did you end up doing?"

"We put the box in the Maze, of course. Along with one of Frypan's sandwiches."

Thomas’s lips twitched up in a smile, he nodded and returned to his S. Then something occurred to him, "Why are you telling me this, anyway?"

Ably actually rolled his eyes, "Newt would have told you anyway." He paused. "I don't want those dark times to return, and even though it may seem like a small argument, we shouldn't fight like that. Besides, you're with Frypan tomorrow, and the last time we send in a greenie without telling him this story..." Alby gave him a particularly droll look. "Hurry up, greenie, you have work to do."

           


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! GUESS WHAT! Another Chapter.
> 
> This one actually took me longer to proof and stuff because of my classes... ehehe. A little bonus scene at the beginning J
> 
> The next chapter should come out next week, if all goes well. Thank you for the advice and reviews! Short A/N, but i just wanna let y'all read... ENJOY!
> 
> OCTOBER 2018: edited this one too!
> 
> "Talking"
> 
> Thoughts
> 
> Flashback
> 
> Warnings: Shank
> 
> Disclaimer: I want it, but I can't have it.

 

He kept up a light jog, not daring to go any faster. Nick hadn't run in the Maze for months. Alby usually subbed in for the sick Runners nowadays.

The boy kept his breath even as he surveyed the walls of the Maze, still a little creeped out by its gloominess and abundance of vines. It seemed like every ten steps one tried to trip him.

Other than that, he kind of liked the quiet of the Maze every once in a while. He usually had a lot of responsibilities and to be able to just jog and clear his mind a bit was nice. Especially now that the next attempt out of the Maze was coming up.

"Ugh," he winced, "Just, what? One week until the Box comes back up again? Then I'll go down with it."

Except, he won't be going down  _with_ the Box, just right behind it. The guys will lower him down to the bottom.

"But we don't even  _know_ what's at the bottom, or how far down it goes... What will I even do when I get down there? 'Hey, some of my guys are up there and if you can get us out and tell us what we're even doing up there, that'd be  _greeaaat_ '… Yeah, that'll go over very well."

The brunette huffed as he turned another corner; a little miffed that his quiet time was interrupted by his own thoughts. Now, one may think, you don't seem to be all with it, Nick. Why even go along with this crazy plan?

"'Cuz, they've got a point when they say we  _need_ to try it, and no one else will go down. I'm the leader, and I just can't tell someone else to do it if I can't do it myself. I'd be a klunk leader then."

There  _are_ a lot of issues with the plan, though...

Nick shook his head and kept running, "No. No second thoughts now. I'll go down with the Box, and if something happens to me, Alby will take over... it's a job I _know_ he can do. He may even be what the Glade  _needs..."_

"That's a stupid fucking idea, though."

Nick almost tripped over  _another_  shuck vine as he whirled around to face the unknown, silky voice. His eyes scanned the corridor he had just run through to catch sight of the body the voice came from.

"Who's there?" Nick asked as his gaze swept over his surroundings, and came up with nothing.

"You're planning on going down after that elevator, right? You don't even know what's down there."

"Of course not! I – just – where the shuck are you?" Nick yelled as he spun around. Where was she?

"Besides, why go down  _yourself_? Why not send something  _not_  alive first? I swear, y'all may be all kinds of cute, but you're still fucking idiots."

Her voice came from his left and he spun to look down a turn off from his corridor. Nick took a few steps into the pathway as he asked, "She-bean? Is that you?"

While he was miffed at the insult (and secretly preened at the compliment), he was still slightly spooked that he  _might_ be talking with a ghost girl. That is, if she was a ghost in the first place. He turned around to look back at the intersection of the two walkways.

"Why do you call me that anyway? Is that some weird cult initiation thing you fiends do?" her voice was  _directly_ behind him now. He knew that if he took even one step back, he would knock right into her. She continued though, "Humph, anyway, don't you have a buddy to meet up with?"

He turned slightly to his left and was about to look behind him when -

"NICK!" His head snapped to the right, and he saw Minho running towards him, waving his hand to catch his attention. He remembered the girl at his back and turned to see no one there.

"Hey man, are you alright? I heard you yell." Minho asked as he came to a stop before his  _fearless_  leader.

 _Uh, no Minho, I'm shucking not. I was about to meet the ghost!_ Nick wanted to shout at him, but all that came out was, "Did you see anyone here just now? Behind me?"

Minho raised an eyebrow at Nick, "No, you were standing just inside that pathway. Even if I was looking, I wouldn't have been able to see anything. Why?"

Nick could only furrowed his brow as he looked about. "I think I just heard the she-bean..."

"Yeah, we always hear her. She sings remember? Or, I mean,  _her ghost_  sings." Minho rolled his eyes at the dazed leader and turned towards where he came from.

"Whatever, we need to head back. Let's go o' fearless leader.

Nick blinked and shook his head. He started to jog besides Minho when he said, "Ah, whatever. Besides, I think I have an idea for the Box plan next week..."

When the next week came and the supplies were being unloaded from the Box, Nick gave Winston the order the slaughter a goat and to remove its leg. Once it was wrapped he laid it parallel to the sticks in a bundle that a builder tied together. As soon as the Box began descending, a few guys lowered their dummy in after it.

All was well until the dummy reached down about 20 feet.

In one smooth motion, some unknown, unseen object swooped through the shaft and sliced the dummy clean in half. Only Alby and Gally had the stomach to pull it back up and analyze what was left of the dummy.

Nick puked once he caught sight of what he could have been.

* * *

 

Thomas was glad when it started to rain just before lunch. Zart may be nice when off duty, but as soon as the day started, he was off barking orders at all the track hoes.

The greenie apparently didn't know klunk when it came to farming. Newt had to stop him several times when he was picking fruit, and Zart yelled at him for planting seeds too far apart or too close together.

When he and Newt took shelter under the Homestead's roof, he heard Nick's voice speak forebodingly behind him.

"It has begun."

He swiveled his head around at the leader of the Glade while Newt simply chuckled. "What started? What do you mean?"

Newt smirked at the jumpy greenie, "It seems that every time it rains  _someone_ gets sick. And once someone gets sick, they go see the med jacks, who also get sick. Then Jeff will spread the cold to Winston, who will spread it to the rest of the Slicers, then the cooks, and then everyone has the shuck gift of the cold."

"Ah," Thomas nodded in understanding; glad that there wasn't something else he had to worry about. "Wait a minute. How does Jeff give it to Winston?"

Nick only gave him a sly grin and waggled his eyebrows before turning to Alby who caught his attention for something or the other.

Thomas tilted his head and shot Newt a questioning look. Newt could only give him a sympathetic look and pat him on the shoulder. "Aw," he said, "innocent child."

Thomas could only look around in confusion before it dawned on him. He could feel the blush creep over his face.

"Oh."

* * *

 

For the next week Thomas continued his Keeper training. He worked again with the Track hoes the day after the rain because the day before had been cut short. Besides hearing the ghost girl's singing, which completely freaked him out, when getting fertilizer, it was okay.

Zart, being the slave driver he was, ordered him to go to the back of the restrooms to get a bag of fertilizer that was stored in the shed connected to them. Newt just waved him off, telling him that the fertilizer was bagged and he wouldn’t miss it.

One his trek there, he got further and further away from the rest of the guys in the Glade. Once he was behind the restrooms, he saw the wooden shed, and opened its flimsy door to investigate for foul-smelling fertilizer when he heard it.

At first he didn’t realize what he was hearing, but soon it was loud enough to hear over the soft rustling of the leaves around him. A light voice carried on the gentle breeze, and scared the klunk out of him.

 _“_ _Windmill, windmill for the land.. Turn forever hand in hand”_

Thomas jerked back so roughly, he accidentally banged his knee on one of the shed doors. He gripped the handle in a white knuckled grip and hoped _he wasn’t hearing a ghost!_

_  
“Take it all in on your stride… It is ticking, falling down! Love forever, love has freely…”_

He stared in the direction of the voice, no longer able to hold onto the hope that it was a Runner singing, seeing as it was coming from the direction of the closest Maze wall.

_  
“Turned forever you and me… Windmill, windmill for the land. Is everybody in?”_

The greenie stood frozen for a few more seconds after the singing stopped, as if any movement would bring on more creepiness. Once his heart rate slowed enough to _not_ threaten his life, he hurriedly grabbed a fertilizer bag, uncaring of the odor, and sprinted back to the Track Hoes.

But other than that? Being a Track Hoe wasn’t that bad.

He had also learned he was a piece of klunk in the kitchen the day after that.

Unsurprisingly when Winston slaughtered an animal during his time in the Bloodhouse, Thomas almost hurled. The keeper had thought it was the funniest thing.

Nick was right. Those Slicers were a weird bunch.

When it came to trying for a Builder and a Bricknick, he was actually acceptable. Gally had not been as much as a shuckface as he  _could_  have been, but that doesn't mean he wasn't.

Thomas was sure he caught the cold going around when he spent time with the med jacks. Clint had been so nice as to 'accidentally' sneeze on him. Thomas just knew that the Gladers were out to get him for being the greenie.

Chuck had approved of this thought when Thomas had explained what the Gladers were doing that night.

"Oh yeah," Chuck had sniffed, "they did it to me. Actually they do it to everyone. It’s another tradition I guess."

A shuck tradition, but whatever.

Thomas doesn't even want to think about his time with the Baggers.

Finally, Thomas spent a day with Chuck and the rest of the Sloppers cleaning the Glade and doing laundry. It went fine, until Thomas started getting everyone's clothes mixed up.

"No, no that's  _Ben's_ shirt. Not Gally's."

"What? How do you know?"

Chuck grabbed the shirt from Thomas's grasp and showed him the name on the inside tag that said  _BEN_  in big bold letters.

"Oh."

Thomas took back the shirt and began washing it. The two were sitting by the stream in the corner of the Glade, directly opposite to the Deadheads. The small stream was obviously artificial. Honestly it was more like a slightly moving body of water.

"I know everyone says it’s impossible," Thomas glanced at the curly haired ex-greenie, "but do you think someone can survive in the Maze?"

Chuck rolled his brown eyes and sighed, "I only know what Nick and Newt tell me, and it’s that no one has and no one can."

Thomas only pressed his lips together and returned to the off white shirt in his hands.

"Honestly," Chuck suddenly said, "I was surprised that Newt talked about the ghost with us."

Thomas tilted his head at the odd topic of conversation. "What makes you say that?"

Chuck stopped scrubbing at the pants in his hands and shook his head, not looking up at the older boy. "Newt usually tries to not talk about her, 'cuz he was standing right there, you know? When she left?"

What was this kid-

Oh. As in standing right there when she went into the Maze.

"He's the," Chuck leaned close and whispered, "Den Mother." He leaned back again and returned to normal volume. "She was his responsibility. All the greenies are."

They both went quiet after that, and focused on the task at hand – the dirty laundry.

So quiet, that they could barely hear the words the wind carried.

" _How come I've never seen you face around here?_

_I know every single face around here..._

_...A man on a mission..._

_...changing the vision..._

_I was never welcomed here."_

* * *

 

The next day was the official day Thomas was done with his Keeper training. Now, according to Newt, Nick would call the Keepers together to talk about his future in the Glade with Thomas. Unfortunately for him, Ben caught the cold going around and Nick decided to sub in for the Runner for the day.

"So he just runs their section?" Thomas asked for what seemed like the seventh time.

Newt rolled his eyes. " _Yes._ " He turned to the greenie that was standing beside him next to the gardens. "While he and the other Runners do their jobs for the day, so will we. Afterwards they'll have your Keeper meeting. Until then you're with me and the Track hoes."

"But Nick's not a Runner."

"No, but not everyone who's a Runner now are the only ones who ever had that job." Newt unsheathed the machete he was going to use. "Nick knows what he's doing. He may seem odd but he's not our leader for nothing."

"How did he become the leader anyway?"

Newt stood before a stump he and Zart were working to remove when he raised an eyebrow at the inquisitive greenie. "He was first of course. Spent an entire month here alone before Alby came in after him." Newt began chopping at the wood. "He likes to get out of the Glade every once in a while too. Just let them be. You should worry about where you'll be working instead."

They were late.

* * *

 

Newt knew there had been something wrong when the other Runners trickled in, except for the Keeper and their first in command. Alby was feeling the worry, but had hidden it behind his usual scowl in order to keep a brave face for the Glade. It wouldn't do if they saw their second in command succumb to worry also.

Thomas's questions and stating the obvious hadn't helped. Yes, the Glade knew that they weren't here yet and no, this was not usual.

All the Gladers gathered at the doors of the Maze minutes before they were due to close. Eyes were trained on the corridor leading into the unknown in worry, and some in fear.

They had to come back. The Glade couldn't lose two high-ranking guys so fast.

There was nervous fidgeting; even recommendations to get a search party together, but they all knew the rules. The most important rule was that no one left the Glade,  _especially_  minutes before the doors closed.

"There!" a shout went out as the Gladers caught sight of the two boys. But something was terribly wrong.

Minho was carrying the brunette leader on his back, moving slowly because of the extra weight. No one needed binoculars to see the blood drenching the side of Nick's face. Nor did anyone step into the Maze to help. There were rules for a reason.

"Come on, Minho!"

"You're almost there!"

"Hurry! HURRY!"

The Asian stumbled and the lighter skinned boy fell off his back and onto the rock floor. The Keeper grabbed Nick's arms and began dragging him when a mighty  _BOOM_  echoed through the Glade.

Minho's eyes widened as his efforts to get through the closing doors renewed with vigor.

"You can do it Minho!"

"Someone should help him!"

"Just leave him Minho!"

" _He's not gonna make it_."

Newt may have said the words to himself, but Thomas heard him just fine over the shouts of the other Gladers. He watched in horror as the doors slowly closed to cut off their view of the struggling Gladers. He felt as if time slowed and all the noise around him quiet.

And then he was moving.

Faster than anyone could stop him, Thomas was wedging himself between the huge rock doors. Shouts rang in his ears as panic seized his heart. He was sliding in just in time to make it out on the other side without getting crushed.

The Maze doors shut with another boom, silencing the safe Gladers on the other side who were shouting his name.

Thomas kneeled on the ground and looked at the doors in awe of what he had just done. He turned to the Runner Keeper and Nick's unconscious body.

Minho just panted and stared at him, "Great, greenie. You _must_  have a death wish."

Thomas chose to ignore the exhausted Runner and crawled to Nick's body. He gently examined the wound on the leader's head. "What happened?"

"Griever."

Thomas's head shot up to look at Minho. He wasn't looking at him, just gazing at the floor in front of him as if he was resigned to his fate. The greenie looked back at Nick, checking for any more wounds, or, more accurately, a sting. His time with the med jacks and the explanation from Newt prepared him to see it, but he found no such wound.

"Was he stung?"

Minho huffed and shook his head. "We didn't see it for too long."

Thomas nodded and looked around. "What do we do now? There must be a place –"

"What do we do  _now_?  _It's over, shuckface! We're dead!"_

Thomas was taken off guard when Minho launched himself over the short distance between him and the greenie to push Thomas against the wall and yell in his face. "There is nothing else to do!"

"There has to be a place to hide him!"

"It's all walls and dead ends, you slinthead! There is  _nowhere_  to go!"

Thomas peeled Minho's hands from his shirt and pushed the taller boy off of himself. They both sat in silence, going over their situation, when –

" _Psst! Heeey!"_

 


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY! It's me, MD13, fulfilling my promise. The next one should be out in no time... ehehe. Not much to say but thanks for the reviews and support!
> 
> OCTOBER 2018: editeeeed!
> 
> "Talking"
> 
> Thoughts
> 
> Flashback
> 
> Warnings: cursing
> 
> Disclaimer: I refuse.

" _Psst. Hey!"_

Thomas and Minho's heads whipped to the opening of the Maze where the whisper came from. There, standing in the mouth of the corridor, was a girl.

She was short, around Chuck’s height, and her left hand, which was resting on the wall beside her, had a black wrapping around it that went up to the middle of her forearm. She was wearing dark grey baggy pants with a worn belt and a green faded short sleeve shirt. She had a fingerless glove on her right hand, and her feet were bare.

Her most noticeable feature was her eyes. They were like ice blue shards hidden behind the dark hair that framed her face and fell into her eyes, partially hiding them. Her hair was long and wavy, in a way that made it look wild. She lifted her right gloved hand and began waving at them.

" _Hey! Come on!"_ She whispered, hand beckoning them towards her.

Minho leaned forward from the rock wall, face scrunched up in confusion and disbelief as he examined the mystery girl. Thomas, on the other hand, stared at her blankly, halfway terrified as he tried to sort through all the questions running through his head at that moment.

He just decided to go with the basics. "What – Wait, who are-"

" _Shhhh!"_ The girl put her finger to her lips and shushed Thomas. She glanced behind her down the pathways before turning back to them.  _"Hurry and pick him up! You don't have much time!"_

Her words kicked to boys into gear. Minho took Nick's limp left arm and Thomas took the right. They both threw the arms over their shoulders and worked their way down the corridor and to the girl. Between the both of them, they moved faster than Minho had alone.

The girl waited for them to get to the mouth of the corridor before she started down the left path.  _"Come on. This way!"_

The boys followed her as she made a few turns further into the Maze, their footsteps louder than they would have been without Nick. She moved fluidly through the Maze, never hesitating or even glancing down at the vines she expertly avoided. It was difficult to keep up with her quick travelling due to the vines on the ground, which seemed to try to trip the boys when they passed over them.

There was familiar grumbling sounds echoing off the walls. They were much more chilling to hear when you were trapped in the Maze, rather than being in the safety of the Glade.

She suddenly stopped a few feet ahead of them and turned towards the right wall. The dark haired girl pointed to the juncture of the floor and wall, and whispered, " _There. The crawl space is long enough for two of you to fit."_ She looked them over for a second before pointing to Nick's unconscious body.

" _Put him in first, towards the end, and one of you will go in the other side, in case he wakes up."_ She them gave them a fierce look that made chills run down their spines. " _If any of you move, if any of you even make a sound, you're all dead. The pabs are sensitive to movement and sound."_

She nodded to the space and after a moment, the boys followed her orders. They slid Nick's body farther down and fixed the vines hiding the space from view. Minho slid into the space farther down on his stomach. His head was next to Nick's in case the Glade leader woke up. His wide shoulders just barely fit in the space, and his left side felt very vulnerable, but he felt better when Thomas immediately hid him form view with the vines.

Once done, Thomas stood and looked at the girl who was keeping a look out.

The girl evaluated at the hidden space, " _Remember if you move or make a sound, you're out."_ She looked back up at the greenie. " _Come on_."

She led him a few paces down the corridor. She then turned to her left and nodded at the wall, " _It'll be uncomfortable, because you'll be squished, but it'll have to do._

Thomas moved the vines to see a taller place cut out in the wall. He would be able to sit in it, if he went in sideways, that is.

He looked back up to the girl, brown eyes catching her eerie blue ones. She nodded again and pressed her full lips in to a line before looking away. It took Thomas a second to realize that she was keeping a look out for any monsters.

He quickly got in, his body squeezing into an uncomfortable position, and soon noticed while he was fixing the vines that he could barely see Minho and Nick's hiding place from his space. He looked back at the girl to see her analyzing his spot.

 _"You're good. Now stay here and act like a rock."_  She nodded once more before turning to run away.

"Wait!" Thomas said. Her head whipped around, long hair swinging wildly as her eyes caught his. She gave him a crazy look.  _"Keep it down!"_

Oh. " _What's your name?"_ He whispered. Her eyes stayed narrowed, but they searched his face for a second before she turned and began running way.

Thomas was glad the Maze was so quiet or he would have never heard her words.

" _I think it started with an S._ "

* * *

 

His legs were cramping up.

Thomas had been sitting in this squished position for a few hours. He was hoping that dawn was right around the corner, but he couldn't be so sure. He hadn't seen or heard anything from Nick and Minho's spot.

Which brought him back to thinking about the mystery girl and her orders. She seemed to know a lot about the Grievers and the Maze... Is that how she survived for so long?

Wait... Thomas thought for a second.

_There was something off about her._

She  _seemed_  real. But, it's not like they touched her or anything. Could she be a ghost and talk to them? Would her skin be cold?  _Would their hands go right through her?"_

Thomas was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a heavy clinking noise. He didn't dare move, but from his spot he could see a massive monster grow closer from the other side of the corridor. Its body moved steadily as its legs clunked against the ground. The head swiveled from side to side, analyzing its surroundings as it moved.

_Griever._

Thomas held his breathe as the beast moved past Minho and Nick, not once looking at them. He could feel a cold fear moving through him as the beast moved past the boys. He continued holding his breath as it moved past his spot with heavy  _clunck_ -ing sound. As soon as it was past his spot, he let it out quietly. The Griever was almost gone and around the corner when he heard a groan.

His eyes shot towards Minho and Nick's hiding spot.

No.

_Oh no._

What a horrible time to wake up, Nick _._

The Griever stopped and turned its bug like head towards the sound. There was a  _shushing_ coming from their spot, and the Griever turned around and began moving back towards the boys.

The Griever slowly passed Thomas and, to his horror, zoned in onto Minho and Nick's spot.

For a terrifying second, Thomas didn't know what to do. Should he keep quiet? Should he run? Should he watch them die to save himself?

It all became clear to him once he saw the beast stop in front of their spot. He threw himself out of his own little hiding spot.

He stood shakily and yelled, ""Hey! Yeah, you look here!"

The Griever spun around and immediately started towards him. It was good that Thomas had a good distance of at least 15 feet or he would have been skewered on the spot.

And then, the chase began. Thomas ran as fast as his feet could carry him. He was surprised that the Griever wasn't as fast as he thought it would be. Thomas was forced to take turn after turn away from his friends, desperate to lose the monster behind him.

It scared the klunk out of him when he stopped hearing the clicking from behind him. The monster came out of a turn off to his left, and it was only the fact that he tripped over a vine that he wasn't killed right then and there. The beast roared as he got up and began running again.

His breath came out in harsh pants and his legs were going numb when, just ahead of him, he saw her again.

She jogged out of a side corridor and turned her head towards him. She was far away, but he could see the disbelieving look on her face as she watched him make his way towards her, Griever in tow.

"Hey!" he shouted. "HEY! RUN AWAY!"

He didn't know if she was listening to him, but she waved her hands towards him, silently signaling to follow her. She took off in the opposite direction and continued for several feet before making a right.

"Follow me! Hurry! We'll lose it here!" Thomas could barely hear her shouting over the roars of the Griever, but he followed anyway.

He was beginning to gain on her, he didn't know if it was because she was slowing down or she didn't run as fast, but he was glad he did when her hand darted to the side with a knife. The blade cut clean through a vine on her side of the corridor, and set off what seemed to be a trap.

The vine she sliced let a huge amount of vines fall from the wall and the weight pulled up some vines from the ground. They were just barely high enough to slow the Griever down. Its metal legs were tangled and tripped by the vines and Thomas almost laughed when he saw the sight when he looked over his shoulder, but relief won out.

"Come on!" She ordered once more as she made a left. Thomas saw that the wall had just begun to move when he got an idea. The greenie turned towards the slowed Griever and began taunting it.

"Hey! You want us, right? Come on then!"

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" the mystery girl's angry voice roared down the corridor. Thomas didn't turn to look at her. Instead his eyes were on the Griever barreling towards him, the vines snapped and twisted around its legs. When it was 20 feet away he turned and sprinted down the corridor that was closing. Luckily, the beast followed him in.

Thomas's eyes were on the Maze girl waving her arms at him and yelling. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins as the corridor got smaller. He could feel bubbling panic when he had to turn his body sideways to get through the pathway. He was about to get squished when he fell through the rapidly closing gap.

Thomas tumbled onto the rocky ground. He didn't register the sound of clashing metal and dying screeches until he looked back at the now closed corridor. The Griever's head barely stuck out of the gap, and its legs were twisted and broken.

No way.

They did it. They got away and a Griever was dead.

Thomas was catching his breath, hoping that Minho and Nick were safe, when he heard the girl speak.

"That was fucking nuts, man. You must be a complete psycho to even try to pull off that shit."

He glanced up and her to see her studying the dead Griever. He slowly stood and he watched her brow furrow and her head tilt to the side. He realized how short she was while standing so close to her. The top of her head barely met his shoulder.

Chuck had told him that many of the guys said she was pretty, and he had to agree. Her dark hair fell to the middle of her back, and there were several braids in it, which seemed to help keep all but her bangs out of her face. He was surprised to see how toned her arms were, actually. Her hands were planted on her shapely hips as she analyzed the now dead creature.

Her head tilted towards the sky and she studied it, seeming to be contemplating something before turning back to him. She sent him a smirk that made her blue eyes glitter.

"You're lucky, newbie. You and those other two are the first to survive a night in this maze." She stopped for a second before pointing down the corridor behind him. "Your friends are that way. Take the third right and an immediate left, and then another left. The doors will open soon, so you should be fine."

"Wait." He said, still studying her. He and so many questions, he wanted so many answers. Unfortunately for him, it seem that he wouldn't get to ask his questions today, because as soon as he opened his mouth to ask, the Maze doors opened.

His head whipped to the side as the loud boom echoed through the Maze. He couldn't see the doors opening from his dark corridor, but he could hear the grinding on the rocks of the Maze.

Thomas turned back to the Maze girl to find her gone.

* * *

 

"What happened to that Griever, greenie?"

Minho had asked him a bunch of questions when he found his way back to the Keeper and Nick. So many, in fact, that Nick had shot Minho a look from under his blood crusted bangs that immediately shut him up.

"Later, Minho. We need to get back to the Glade." And that was that.

So with Thomas under Nick's left arm and Minho his right, then set off back to the Glade.

Fortunately, being the Keeper of the Runners, Minho knew the Maze like the back of his hand. Unfortunately,  _maybe_ , their route took them past the dead Griever. Minho had shot hid a dumbfounded look upon seeing it and Nick only sighed tiredly.

They didn't stop, of course. Getting Nick to the Med Jacks was more important.

But when Thomas passed the spot where the girl stood, he realized what seemed so off about her. She spoke to them, of course, when hiding the boys, but Thomas couldn't recall hearing to sound of her footsteps or even the rustle of her clothes.

Except when she spoke, the Maze girl didn't make a sound.

* * *

 

The girl tracked them through the maze. She travelled on the maze walls in order to get a bird's eye view on the boys left in the labyrinth.

Once she left the noob, she went to check on the others to see the taller one dragging the other out of their hiding spot and into the open. She didn't think he had the energy to drag his leader back to the green all on his own.

Luckily, it seemed that the newbie was good with directions, because only a few minutes later he showed up to help.

She couldn't help but smile at the questioning glances the tired leader sent the noob, and the interrogation the Runner tried to give him. They  _finally_  got a move on when the leader grimaced and basically told the Asian to shut the fuck up.

The girl frowned when she regarded the injured brunette's state of health. She had been following another maze mapper back to the doors, because he was notorious for losing track of time. She didn't know until she heard a screech that a punk ass bitch was released into the maze.

Yes, that what she calls them.

_Why? Because they're punk ass bitches. That's why._

The guys in control did that sometimes. A P.A.B would be released an hour early, or maybe even in the morning. So, she spent the day distracting it, and leading it away from the oblivious maze runners.

Unfortunately for the injured leader, she was on the other side of the maze when he and his buddy ran into it. She just thanks the menstrual negation gods that she made it in time for the two to only get away with such minor injuries. That P.A.B could have torn them apart had it not wanted to play with its food.

The girl was shaken out of her musings when the boys passed the dead creature. The runner stared at it and turned to the noob with a crazy look on his face. The leader sighed, but it was the noob's reaction that made her raise an eyebrow.

He was looking at the spot she had been standing before she left, face scrunched up in confusion before he seemed to reach a realization.

They all kept moving though, and once they were in sight of the now open doors, she took her leave.

 


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I know it’s been awhile. I’m okay, thanks for the well wishes and update requests. I have really wanted to write more of this story and to immerse myself in this fandom again, and now I finally have time. I mostly stopped writing because of Spring Break, but as soon as spring break ended it was Finals Madness. Then I had to move out of my apartment, ugh. There may or may not be a video games obsession sprinkled in there but whatever. After the move out I had to leave the country to visit family overseas. Then school came up again. Now, though, I have some serious down time. I know what you’re thinking. “Gee golly, but there sure must have been some free time at some point right??” There was, but the thing about me is that I have to focus on one fandom at a time, unfortunately. As soon as I got that last chapter out, fucking Bleach sucked me in. Then Naruto, and suddenly I see a Marvel movie and I’m balls deep (not that I have any) in that fandom. But now I’ve come full circle to continue what I started. Sorry for the long A/N, but I know some of y’all are like me and enjoy knowing shit about the people who write for you!
> 
> As a peace offering, I think I shall add a lil somethin’ somethin’ at the end....
> 
> And seriously guys, thanks for the following and support. I’m glad that you guys enjoy my odd story. I do know what I MIGHT name S, but I actually have a favor to ask of you guys. In the books and movies, the main Gladers are named, but I actually want to involve more minor characters, because I just need some hauntings to happen to some people, ya know? Eheheh. I know the guys get their names from important figures, so do you guys think you can recommend some Famous people and some nicknames to go along with them. I’d like to get you guys involved more! J Thank y’all and enjoy!
> 
> OCTOBER 2018: Hey, thanks for sticking around guys!
> 
> "Talking"
> 
> Thoughts
> 
> Flashback
> 
> Warnings: Cursing! S’s potty mouth.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Maze Runner.

 

The Gladers were all crowded at the doors the next morning when they opened up. Most had left the doors the night before. Only Newt and Chuck camped out there the entire night, unable to make themselves move from them. Alby had come back first. He stood as still as a statue as the Gladers slowly trickled over behind him. All were at attention when the doors boomed open.

Ever so slowly the giant moving walls eased open. The boys all leaned in, trying to get a glimpse of the corridor as soon as possible.       

Newt’s shoulders sagged while Alby’s arms, which were crossed over his chest, tensed even more. Chuck could only muster a defeated look when Alby turned around and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Looks like they’re not coming back.” The dark skinned male muttered. 

He waved a tired hand at the rest of the Gladers. Taking the cue, most, besides Newt and Chuck, turned and began walking away. The gloomy atmosphere was heavy, and Alby could feel the heavy weight on his shoulders growing.

 _How does... did... Nick deal with knowing that everyone’s life was in his hands?_  

Alby only sighed and ran a hand down his face. It was one thing to temporarily take over for a day, but not having Nick to fall back on... 

“HEY! By the Glade, look!” Chuck’s childish voice rang out. Ably almost got whiplash from how fast he turned his head to look at the younger boy, or more specifically, what had him pointing and waving his arms around like a maniac.

There, just at the end of the corridor, were the three missing boys.

* * *

The Maze girl wandered back to the site of the dead griever. Her nose crinkled as the scent of decaying (artificial??) flesh reached out to her as she grew closer. The girl squatted before the dead body and tilted her head to the side, surveying the beast. It was odd to look at one so closely. Its head was perfectly intact despite its entire body being completely flattened. She squinted when she noticed the steadily blinking red light coming from within its body.

The girl stood and walked away, knowing the boys would want a look, and there was no way in hell she was touching that thing. She didn’t care if there was an odd blinking or that her curiosity was yelling at her to go check it out.

_Nope, I’ve had a crazy eventful day and night, I just wanna relax._

The girl took a few turns and stopped to lean down in the middle of a corridor. She retrieved her duffle bag from the small crawl space there and swung it over her shoulder. The girl started down the passageway again. She had a few hours to relax. Her plan could only work with the boys distracted, which they definitely would be today.

So she did. She returned to part of the maze that held her little base camp. It was a long corridor that led to a dead end. She had spent the first day in the Maze finding a good spot up high to hide from the monsters at night and the boys from the day.

While it _would_ have been easier to go back and live in the Prairie Square, or whatever they called it, the girl actually felt much safer in the Maze.

 _It’s about control._ She had thought to herself. In the Square, she’s at the mercy of the guys, who probably have a system already set up. While that is nice and all, the girl felt that she had as much love for authority as she did for shoes. Meaning none at all. 

Anyway, she had immediately gone to work on her little corner of the Maze. The first few days in the Maze, she spent mapping out the immediate area and watching the boys and monsters. Then it was all about making a camp. She had cut vines from other walls to weave a hammock. It hung halfway up the wall of the dead end, and there were various vines covering it. The vines hid her from view while she slept.

The girl dropped her bag in the corner, pulled out a flask of water to clean her face, then stuffed the bag into a grouping of vines. If she fell asleep now, she could get in a good nap before going to fix the trap she set off. Maybe tonight the guys will be too distracted to be on guard. It’ll be nice to get a good bath in. Like a reward for getting those guys out alive. 

The girl climbed up the vines to settle in the hammock. She had set up multiple traps around the Maze during her time there. They came in handy when she explored while the monsters were out. If the Maze moves, then it’s more important to have back up plans if she can’t formulate an escape. If she can’t escape, then she can’t hide, and that would suck.

The brunette settled in the hammock and covered herself with the vines. She seriously doubted they would still run the Maze with the scare that just happened. But better safe than sorry.

* * *

 

“MINHO!”

“THOMAS!”

“NICK!”

It was all shouting and chaos from the boys who were crowding around the three survivors, but one look at the tired grins of Nick, Minho, and Thomas, and it was obvious that it didn’t bother them. Well, _maybe_ they could tone it down a bit. After all, Nick did have a killer headache.

Alby’s shoulders sagged with relief as he watched the guys greet them. He couldn’t imagine running the Glade like Nick, especially with three loses in one day, and seeing his friend’s tired, bloody face made want to cry. 

 _Wait. Bloody?_  

He snapped to attention at almost the same time that Jeff reached forward to look at the leader’s wound.

“Guys! Guys, Guys, slim it! Nick’s injured.” Alby began easing the Gladers away from the group so the Med Jacks could get a better look.

“We need to clean it up. The blood makes it look bad, because head wounds bleed a lot, but he could still get an infection.” Jeff stated as Clint began to take Nick off of Minho and Thomas. They were probably exhausted after all. Jeff spared a glance at the other two survivors. “All of you. Get to the Med Hut.”

Minho and Thomas didn’t protest. The seven of them, with Alby and Clint supporting Nick, Jeff leading them and Newt following, the latter shouting to the rest of the Gladers to get to work while they sort out this mess.

* * *

 

“So.” Alby had his arms crossed over his chest as his gaze shifted back and forth from the tired Minho on one cot to the dozing Thomas on the other, occasionally glancing at Nick in a chair next to the table with all the medical supplies.

The Med Jack Hut was a larger room separated into three parts. There were two private rooms, mostly for someone who was stung or just seriously sick. Just a cot, table and a few chairs, really. The seven of them were in the larger part, which had two cots on either side, with a window on Thomas’s side that faced the Glade and Maze Doors. Nick was seated in a chair at the foot on Minho’s bed, and on the left side of the chair was the table Jeff was working at.

Nick kept insisting that _it was fine and he didn’t need all that stingy stuff_. His protests had died down with a glare from Ably. Clint had bandaged all of Thomas and Minho’s cuts and scrapes, and just told them to chill out.

Ably and Newt just watched in silence, waiting for the story. Alby, from the wall right next to the door opposite of the beds, and Newt, from the chair at the foot of Thomas’s bed.

Thomas peaked an eye open, glanced to Minho at his left, then down to Alby by the door. “Uhh...” He hesitated.

“We saw the girl.” Minho said, raising both arms to rest his palms over his eyes. “After, this _slinthead_ ,” the Asian waved his arm in the greenie’s direction, “came into the Maze, we saw her.”

Nick’s head jerked back, his eyes falling onto Minho, wide and disbelieving. “ _What!?_ ” Nick gasped, “You didn’t tell me! You didn’t say anything!”

“She told us to slim it!” Minho shot back defensively. “She said the Grievers are sensitive to movement and sound. Of course I wasn’t going to say anything! You waking up almost got us found out!”

Nick visibly deflated and pouted.

“Hold on.” Ably said, raising up a hand. “She told you? You got found out? What happened?”

Minho sighed. “She told us to follow her. We ended up hiding in some holes in the Maze walls. The vines covered them really well. We mostly just hid, until a Griever passed as Nick was waking up.” The boy lifted his hands off of his face to sit up against the wall a bit. Punching the pillow into a comfortable position, he kept speaking. “Greenie distracted it before it could find us, though.”

Eyebrows raised around the room at the newbie. Thomas could only put up his hands defensively. “I couldn’t just let them get found! I could run - Nick would have been killed!”

“Now, now,” Newt said soothingly, “we didn’t say anything. Just keep going." 

Minho closed his eyes after waving to the greenie to continue.

Thomas shifted to sit up like Minho to continue speaking. “I just ran, actually.” Thomas ran a hand through his hair. “A few times I thought I was done for. Then I ran into her again.” His eyes lifted to look at the boys in the room. “She told me to follow her and we kept running. She actually made the vines trip the Griever a bit before-”

“You killed it?” Minho cut in. 

“ _What?_ ” The guys, minus Nick, gasped. “How?”

“It was squished-”

“It just got trapped between to walls that were closing!” Thomas cut Minho off. “Look, the girl. She-” Nick leaned in excitedly.

“ _You killed a Griever?_ ” Newt exclaimed, Nick shot him a look and leaned back. “Well, klunk, who would have guessed it?”

“Jeez, don’t tell Gally,” Jeff tried to joke, “He’ll have a heart attack and we don’t have the stuff here to fixed something that jacked.”

Alby rubbed his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on with just the thought of when the crazy browed boy heard the news.

Nick crossed his arms and rubbed his chin. His dark eyebrows pulled together, his right slightly irritating the recently cleaned cut on the right side of his forehead. The wound was covered with a band aid, and was hidden from view by the brunette’s bangs. “We’ll probably have to send someone to look at the body. We’ve never had the opportunity to look at them up close like this.”

“None of the guys are going to want to go in today. Not after we almost got trapped. And we,” Minho pointed his finger between him and Nick, “should be the ones to look at it. Or you and Alby.”

“Tomorrow.” Nick nodded to himself. “We’ll rest today and go in tomorrow."

“Wait. You’re still hurt.” Newt protested. “Just let Minho and Alby go.”

Thomas was about to ask to go along, when there was a knock on the door. 

Alby raised a brow and slowly opened it, only to reveal Gally in all his crazy brow glory.

Ably sighed. “Listen, Gally-”

“We still need to have a meeting.” Gally stated immediately, eyes glancing at Thomas. “About what happened.” Alby turned to Nick.

Nick and Alby seemed to silently communicate, before Nick spoke. “We’ll have a Gathering tonight. I’m just too tired for any of that right now, and I know Minho and Thomas are too.” Gally studied each of the boys for a second, eyes resting on Thomas a second longer than the rest before nodding.

Gally stepped away and Alby closed the door. The dark skinned boy gave another sigh before speaking. “Get some rest. You’ll all need it.”

* * *

 

 **She was quiet today. The girl dragged her feet on the ground, a tray of food in her hands, and her eyes trained onto the floor. She wore a white outfit. White slacks, a white tee shirt, and white belt on her hips. Only her glove was black. She stopped at a door in the steel gray corridor and keyed in a number into the key pad next to the steel door. The door smoothly slid opened and she stepped into the bare militarized room.**

**It was small. A twin bed on her left, a door leading directly to a tiny bathroom directly in front of her, a desk facing the back wall next to it, and a** **closet on her right. It was gray also. The only color being the one picture in a frame on the desk.**

**She set the tray on the bed and sat next to it, eyes still on the floor. Her body seemed to sag, her head bent down and her hands dangling between her knees.**

**She didn’t know how long she sat there, staring at the floor, but she didn’t even blink when the door slid open again.**

**Shoes appeared in her field of vision. White slippers compared to her bare feet.**

**“You okay?”**

**She only hummed.**

**The male sighed. “It’s okay to be sad. I know I am.”**

**“That’s another one gone.” She murmured. “There’s only four of us now.”**  

She eased into wakefulness. Outwardly, she gave no sign of waking up, not even her breathing changed. The girl took a moment to listen to her surroundings. The gentle breeze was there, but nothing else. 

The brunette blinked her blue eyes open and just thought for a minute.

Her dreams were always sparse. Most of what she remembered was that room and a gym with a beaten up sandbag in the middle, the room obviously used often. From what she gathered, she had been in some sort of training facility. Not only from her dreams did she draw this conclusion, but also from her survival skills.

 She took a deep breath and arched her back, the cracks relaxing her from her sad dream.

 _Only four of what? Four poor kids they haven’t dropped into this fucking place?_  

She grumbled and climbed out of her hammock, eyes glancing to the ground to check where the shadows were.

_Its only mid-afternoon. Plenty of time._

Once on her feet, trusty knife in her pocket and small bag filled with essentials slung across her back, the girl set off.

* * *

 

**_Special!_ **

 

The girl was hanging from the top of the Maze wall near the Doors. She had been here for hours watching the boys milling about. Over the past few months, she managed to gather enough information to kind of understand their system. They have eight different job category and everyone fell into one. One guy will be in charge of the others who have the same job, and they usually report to a brunette with green eyes she saw in the Maze the first day.

He seemed nice. He usually had an easy going grin on his face, and encouraging words for his guys. He seemed to space out often, but that’s just a quirk she guessed.

_Doesn’t hurt that he’s cute, either._

Actually, most of the guys were really good looking in their own ways. The hard labor didn’t hurt their physiques at all... 

She shook her head at herself, and grinned when she thought about what she was _really_ doing there today.

She had taken to spying on the boys when she wasn’t doing her own thing in the Maze. At first it was to gather intel, but then it turned into people watching when she decided against going back into the Square. So she found that the Elevator Box thing came up once a month, and usually the boys left her box – more of a crate, really – at the Doors. She had heard the leader and what seemed to be the boss of the Maze explorers talking the first time the Box came up after her.

_“Just leave it here?”_

_“Yeah, we’ll pick it up tonight to put by her grave or something.”_

And thus began Operation Get the Box Without Being Seen. Or Ninja Training. Whatever.

The she bean’s eyes scanned the Square once more before lifting her are in preparation for a throw. She had a long, thin wire in her hand, and at the end was a hook attached. It had been in her bag the first day; she just hadn’t checked the multiple inner pockets.

She stayed poised like this for several minutes, waiting for an opportunity, before it happened.

From across the Square, she saw a dude about to grab one of the sheep before the poor animal slipped by him and made a break for it through the open gate. She could only grin widely at the scene- multiple guys turning away from their activities to see three guys chasing a sheep across the Square, a large, burly, blonde guy shouting at the sheep from the cropland – _don’t let it near the vegetables!-_ and best of all, they guys who stand near the Doors, doubling over in laughter.

_Now’s my chance!_

She swung the hook towards the box that lay innocently between the Maze Doors, catching onto one of the holes in the crate. She grabbed the wire with both hands and yanked it up towards her.

The boxed were usually light, so it flew up to her quickly, so quickly that she almost fell out of the grouping of vines she was hanging from when it nearly smacked her in the face. Once she got a good grip, she shoved it under her left arm and climbed up to the top of the wall with her right. Once at the top, she sat up and grinned at the little black crate and opened it.

At the very top, wrapped in paper, was a sandwich. The piece of heaven was six inches long, filled with ham, lettuce, tomato, and some turkey among other things. The brunette grinned wider and rubbed her hands together in excitement before using her knife to cut it into slices. She only scarfed down one slice before rewrapping the other six pieces. She had to conserve her food, after all.

She grinned wider at the words she heard from the door guards. _“The box is gone again!”_

She had to shove a fist in her mouth to keep quiet when she heard the disappointed groans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, thats what I've got so far, hopefully i'll update soon, but who knows.....


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter! Thank you to all my reviewers and Zoey24 for your suggestions! They were a big help. I’m glad y’all like it, because while I know it’s different from other stories, some people don’t usually like different.  
> This chapter will be structured differently from the rest, just because of how the plot progresses.  
> Also, I see my story is a part of some collections! Super cool! I’m glad my story is good enough to make it onto someone’s list.  
> I’m posting this while I have the next chapter halfway done, so there WILL be another update within the week.  
> ANYWAY! To the story!  
> "Talking"  
> Thoughts  
> Flashback  
> Warnings: bad words? Someone takes a shower?  
> Disclaimer: not mine! No, no, no!

Thomas has only been in the Glade for a week, so there has never been a time for him to be a part of a Gathering 

He’s in a big hut with some of the other boys. Chuck has explained to him that Alby had wanted a place to gather everyone that wasn’t the Homestead or the middle of the Glade, so Gally had got the Builders to get a hut built. It was a bit away from the Homestead and the Kitchen is in between the two. 

It’s simple. Three rows to sit on, each one lower than the one before, so everyone had a place to sit and everyone could see the front. Thomas and Chuck were sitting in the first row on the side. Chuck said they had to sit over here, since the Gathering involved him.

Thomas had felt bad when he finally saw Chuck after Jeff and Clint let him loose from the Med Jack room. He was told to get some sleep, but he had run into Chuck outside. Chuck has hugged him, which was nice, but then the kid had scolded him for being a _shank_ and that he was _worried_! Thomas narrowly avoided a crying Chuck by telling the younger boy about how he saw a Griever.

“ _What?_ Chuck was aghast. And you _lived_?”

Thomas planted his hands on his hips, nodding his head rapidly, grateful that Chuck wasn’t tearing up anymore. “Got away without a scratch!”  

Chuck was watching him nod like an idiot with a skeptical look on his face when Alby came out of the Med Jack hut. “Meeting tonight. Get rest.” Ably scowled at them before walking off.

So there they were. Early apparently, since there were only a few other boys in the room with them. Chuck had been insistent that they be early, because being late was very embarrassing. Thomas got a feeling Chuck had been late to a meeting when he saw the redness on the other boy’s cheeks. 

More Gladers started trickling into the room as the minutes passed. Chuck took the opportunity to talk about each boy who came in, because while Thomas had been introduced to most, Chuck felt that he should more about each one. Thomas wasn’t protesting, since it distracted him from his nervousness regarding the Gathering. 

Chuck was whispering to him about Olly and Will, who everyone guessed were probably brothers with how similar they looked, when Alby and his scowl entered the hut. Most of everyone had already shown up, except for Nick, Newt, and Clint.

Thomas was about to ask Alby were they were as the dark skinned boy passed him to get to the front when Newt and Clint slipped into the hut. Alby turned and began to address the Gladers.

“Time to start the Gathering.”

* * *

 

There was something happening. Which wasn’t surprising, given last night’s events. 

The girl was atop one of the walls adjacent to the open Maze doors, watching the boys flit about while snacking on some vines. She ran her knife through the green rope to get another slice when all of the boys started packing up and gathering to the left side of the Square.

She knew they would be having a meeting. They did every month, about a week after the Elevator Box comes up. She tried to spy on a meeting a few months ago. The hut was well built though, so she couldn’t hear much, but from what she could gather, it was just a checkup on everyone. Is work getting done? Does anyone need anything or have something to say? What does the noob want to do?

_It seems like a nice system. At least everyone gets an opportunity to have their voices heard._

It was especially nice, because everyone had to be there, so the Maze doors were left unguarded, as was every other building in the Square. She wondered why they didn’t wait until the doors closed to have the meeting – that would make sneaking in a bit harder, of course – but she guessed it would ruin bedtime if the meeting ran long. It’s the only reason she could come up with, but it doesn’t matter, because everything was unoccupied. Including the showers.

She had _dreams_ about getting a nice, hot shower. She can only manage one once a month, since during their meetings no one left them until everything was done. They were usually longer than half an hour, so she had plenty of time to sneak in, shower, dress and get out before the meeting ended.

The shower once a month wasn’t the only time she bathed of course. Washing up in the stream were enough to keep her hygiene in acceptable levels. She wasn’t an animal.

Unfortunately, the doors closed while she showered, so she had to stay in the Square until the morning came. If she took the opportunity to steal a few sandwiches and mess with a few people while she was there, then it was neither here nor there.

Once the door guards headed in to the meeting, she descended from the wall using some vines. Her feet landed gently on the ground, making no noise as she adjusts her bag, which was mostly empty, save for some soaps, a towel, and a change of clothes.

_Hot shower, my love! I’m coming for you!_

She waited a beat to make sure there were no boys in sight, then she took a breath and sprinted down the right Square wall. Making sure to keep low and blend in with the brush, she made her way towards the forest that surrounded the showers.

There was a specific tree she was going to. It had a strong trunk with enough nooks and crannies for her to grip onto so she could climb higher. There was a twist of branches that allowed her to sit comfortably where they diverged. The broad, numerous, green leaves allowed for enough cover to conceal her position. If she leaned far enough, she could get a good view of the stream on the right (nearest to the wall) and showers on the left.

Once she got up the tree, she settled in to wait for all the guys to get to the meeting. She could just see a familiar limping form make its way across the Square with another from between the leaves. Once both boys disappeared from sight, she made her move.

The girl hopped down from her perch to the ground below, leaves crunching under her feet. She began to hum her herself in anticipation as she weaved between the trees.

The ‘showers’ was actually a building away from the sleeping quarters. It had to be because the machine that warmed the water was a bit loud, so if someone used the hot water in the middle of the night, the machine would wake people up when it replaced the water. She had wondered if the guys built the machine, but while worn, it was much too polished and elaborate for it to have been built by a bunch of kids in the forest. At least the guys in control knew the importance of hot water.

She walked to the showers, subconsciously muting her footsteps with practiced ease. She paused in front of the door, and laid a palm against the surface to slowly open it. It would do no good if she walked in on someone.

It was empty, as expected. There was a row of stalls on the left side, five in all, with some shelving on the right side. A collection of bottles sat on the shelves – communal soaps and shampoos, it seems. There are two sinks near the door, and everything was made of wood. The boys must have treated the wood somehow so that it wouldn’t rot. There wasn’t enough wood in the Square to keep replacing the shower walls every so often.

She smiles smugly at the bottles as she passes. She has her own floral, girly soap and shampoo. She shares with no one.

She scurries over to the last stall, humming as she went. The girl opened the stall door and hung her bag on the shower head, angling the spout so that the spray wouldn’t hit her bag. She doesn’t leave her bag out, because it would be harder to hide spontaneously if someone were to walk in. No one has, but best be careful.

The brunette begins swaying to the song she hums as she undresses and pulls out the soaps she brought. At last. The time has come to turn on the spray.

_COLD!_

She presses herself against the wall in order to avoid the cold spray. _Has one of those bastards used up the hot water? How could they? Who showers in the middle of the day and steals the hot water? I will ruin them._

The water warms and she breathes a sigh of relief. Good. No one needs to get maimed today.

* * *

 

Someone was shaking him. 

“No. I’m not doing it. Get Alby.” Nick mumbled. Alby’s a responsible guy. He’s so responsible. He can run the Glade forever.

“Nick, it’s time for the Gathering.” Of course its Newt trying to ruin his sleep.

“No Gatherings. I don’t remember any Gatherings.” Nick turned onto his other side, trying to hide his face from the blonde waking him up. The bed didn’t feel like his own, but that’s okay. It’s doing the job.

“He’s still a bit out of it. Head injuries do that to people.” A deeper voice says from further away. Clint maybe. He comes closer. “Hey man, come by when you wake up okay? Take your time.”

Newt sighs. “Soon please. We need to talk about the Griever and the greenie.”

Nick rouses a bit. He knows that he _should_ get moving… He’s just so tired and his head hurts… maybe five more minutes.

Footsteps tell him that the boys are leaving the room. He dozes a bit before he cracks open his eyes and turns onto his back. He’s in a med jack room. The light is low, so it must be close to sundown. Nick takes deep breaths as he reaches up to touch the wound on his head gently. A cut with soreness on his left side near his temple. It could’ve been worse.

_A lot worse._

Nick puts his palms on his eyes and continues to breathe. He’s alright. He and Minho made it out okay. The greenie too.

His eyes shoot open.

The girl! Thomas and Minho said the girl helped them! They _saw_ her and _talked_ to her and they’re probably telling everyone all about it in the meeting and _he’s not there!  
_

He jerks into a sitting position and regrets it when his vision swims. His hands are dirty. He wrinkles his nose as he waits for his head to calm. Even with double vision he can see the blood. Gross.

He wants to hear about the girl, but he also doesn’t want to scare any of the boys with his looks. He probably smells too.

Maybe a stop by the showers for a quick wash up wouldn’t be so bad before the meeting.

* * *

 

She savors the hot water and washes herself. She has just turned off the water and is drying her hair with the towel she brought when a sound catches her attention. 

The girl squints and tilts her head, straining to hear the sound. Its far away, as if someone was shuffling around. Maybe someone went back to the sleeping quarters?

But no. If there was someone at the beds, then that means that the guys must have finished up their meeting. Which meant that the guys might come here for their nightly showers. But she is ‘here’ and the only exit faces the sleeping quarters.

There’s no way! They probably has _so much_ to discuss and she’s only been here for fifteen minutes! At most! They can’t already be done!

The girl will be angry at herself later for her reaction. She panics. She can’t leave the showers, but she can’t stay either. Either way she will get found out, and she honestly never planned on revealing herself in a way that wasn’t totally awesome. Getting caught naked in the guys’ showers is not totally awesome. Not even a bit.

_Deep breaths! If I’m going to get caught, I’m not going to be naked!_

She’s hastily drying herself when the noise gets clearer. She wishes she could see outside, but while the walls have cracks, they aren’t even facing where the noise is coming from.

It’s footsteps. A slow, uneven shuffle, as if the person is super tired or drunk. It’s getting closer to the showers. She paused after putting on her underwear to _really_ listen. There’s definitely a person coming but…

Only one person is out there.

He must have left the meeting early. Or maybe never went. Either way there was a random boy about to come into the building that she was half naked in.

She stills and switches her breathing to slow, quiet breaths. When the door to the showers opens, she doesn’t even twitch. She can hear him breathing, hear his steps on the ground and the rustling of the objects in his hands.

He stays near the entrance as he shuffles around, touching the bottles on the shelves. His breaths are even but, his steps are still odd. He must be swaying where he stands. Each step is a bit too loud and long, like he’s moving his entire weight from one foot to the other.

The boy opens the shower door closes to the entrance and she hears bottles being transferred to the shower floor. The boy sighs.

The sound of a zipper is loud in the silence.

_Literally what the fuck. Why. Why are you showering now of all times? Theres a meeting you should be in!_

She keeps quiet as the door closes and the shower turns on. Maybe he’ll just leave after he cleans up. Maybe she will get out of this with her dignity intact.

She debates for a second on leaving while he showers. The water would cover up the sounds of her moving. But she needs to dress and collect her stuff. Then open two doors and walk the length of the building to reach the exit. No doubt, with him being right next to the door, he’ll feel the draft of the outside as she exits. The doors are large, but there are still gaps at the bottom and top.

The scent of generic dude soap fills the room as she waits. She’s getting most of the water out of her hair when-

He lets out a quiet groan.

_NO! NO NO NONONONONONONONONO-_

“Ow my head.”

_Oh thank god._

The girl presses her hands to her face hard and clenches her jaw to keep from _losing her fucking mind_.

_I’m going to die here. If not from panic, then from a fucking heart attack. There are a lot of things I don’t want to know, and that is one of them._

Well, unless-

_Lalala! I can’t hear you!_

The shower stops, _finally_ , and he begins to dry, dress and leave. She’s beginning her victory wiggle when the hot water machine begins to grumble.

The boy’s shuffling stops just as she hears the creak of the entrance door. He pauses for a second, before he shifts. She guesses that he’s looking back at the not-as-empty-as-he-thinks shower stalls.

“I didn’t think I used that much hot water.” He mumbles.

She freezes. She doesn’t even breathe. _Pretty please don’t check the stalls._

He stays still for a second before letting out a huff and leaving the building.

She grins and lets out her victory wiggle in full force as his footsteps take him far from her position.

After her short celebration, she dresses and gathers her stuff. She steps out of the stall and is by the exit in a flash. She presses her ear to the door and listens to make sure there’s no one outside before opening the door and making a break for her tree.

Her heart rate doesn’t return to a normal pace until she’s safe in her concealed spot.


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I’m going to change something about the story. Nothing huge, but after doing some research (again) I found that the estimated number of guys in the Glade (Book) when Thomas arrived was between 50-60. I had about 36 guys there in my mind, but I like the bigger number better. And! I like even numbers and numbers that mean something, so I want the last Glader to come up to be number 60, so that will be five years they were there. A few guys died in the years they’ve been there, so there will be roughly 50 Gladers, including my OC. She comes up in the 30s – unspecified number because it doesn’t really matter… or does it? Hehe.  
> This story has more humor than I’ve seen in other TMR fics, so I get it if some people don’t like it. Like, yes they are living in a Maze with monsters, but my OC’s perception of it speaks a bit about her – something that may come up indirectly in later chapters.  
> Okay! This chapter has more to do with plot than the last one – I had kinda wanted to focus a bit on her survival tactics and to be a bit funny after the craziness of the Maze night, but this one has more of the boys in it! And its longer! (5000 words) Enjoy!  
> Also, I will have a special Chapter out in a bit to celebrate my story getting 10,000 hits! Thank you for all of the kind reviews! Constructive criticism is encouraged!

“-we can definitely talk more about that later.” Alby finishes saying to Sam as Nick walks through the door. 

The Gladers all turn to look at the interruption, many straightening and looking more lively after being bored to near tears. Going over the job reports from each Keeper was boring, but Alby and Nick found them necessary.

Nick smiles at the guys as he descends the steps to meet Alby at the front. The usual scowl wasn’t on the second’s face, instead a scrutinizing look replaced it.

Nick looks better. The paleness that the boy came into the Glade with was gone, and the shower seemed to have done some good. The only sign of the what happened in the Maze was the white bandage peeking out from under Nick’s dark hair.

“All good?” Nick shot a warm smile to Alby as he turns to face the Gladers.

“Good. I’ll go over it with you later. We decided to wait for you to talk about last night.”

Nick nods. The Gladers were all on the edge of their seats, eyes bright and anticipation think in the air.

He brought his hands together in a loud clap. “Okay. Let’s discuss.”

Suddenly there’s shouting. Boys firing off questions left and right, some directed at Nick and Minho, others at the greenie who was totally backed into the wall at his side. Gally was already up and trying to make a point, but a few boys stayed at the back to avoid the chaos.

Nick let it go on for a bit, even if his headache intensified. Ah. These guys had no decorum for situations like this.

“Alright! Alright! Slim it!” Alby is full blown scowling again, directing his chilling glare at Gally and the boys at the front. All but Gally cowered at the sight of it. The Keeper of the Builders only huffed and rolled his eyes.

Nick plants his hands on his hips and grins at the Gladers. He hopes the grin hid how huge of a headache he has. “Not what we have all of that out of our systems! Let’s please keep it down, my head still hurts.”

Many boys deflate at their leader’s words. None want to be the ones responsible for Nick’s pain, which would make them the subject of Alby’s ire.

Nick tried to think of a place to start. There has never been something this huge to happen to them before. Usually when there was news, it was discussed amongst the Gladers. Nick has never thought that hiding important things from all the boys would go well. They were all stuck here in this Maze without choice, it just didn’t feel right to take away anymore choices from the guys. So, Nick made sure that everyone knew what was going on, like the Keeper reports. If everyone put their heads together, they had a better chance of surviving. Plus, there was more trust in each other when important decisions were made with all the Gladers involved.

That didn’t mean it didn’t get difficult at times. There was usually yelling, often fights threatened to break out, and once there was tears. _Shuck_ , the tears. Something on this scale was dangerous, and Nick was cursing his headache that he didn’t get to talk more about it with Alby and Newt before the Gathering. His headache and Gally. 

The crazy browed blonde was a huge fan of everyone being in the know and having his voice heard. A very loud fan. Nick wouldn’t be surprised if Gally came to the Medjack Hut when he did just so he could have a Gathering to talk about all this as soon as possible. 

What the shuck were they supposed to say? All the boys lived on the knowledge that no one could survive the Maze. That truth was getting shaken. Three guys survived the Maze and a Griever died! He could already see Gally’s freak out in his mind’s eye. And the girl! Was she a ghost? Has she been _living_ in the Maze the whole time?

Nick cast a cursory glance at the three boys behind him.

His second in command stood a step behind his right side. The dark skinned boy still has his arms crossed over his chest and his scowl is still on his face, daring any of the Gladers to speak up. He knows that Alby always had a firm opinion on the Ghost Girl situation. The situation – not the girl. He never really knew her, never talked to her, never even learned her name, so he wouldn’t form an opinion on her. But her existence, or more specifically, the beliefs surrounding her, threatened the peace they have. They have rules and those rules brought order. Order means peace and peace is safe. She could throw all of that off balance. By the Glade, her box threw them for a loop, and it was just a box! If she was alive? Alby had only told his once, but Nick understood. It was better if she were dead and the odd occurrences were just a trick from the Creators, because she could break their peace. 

Newt thinks differently about it. Of course, he does. The blonde sits in a chair close to the greenie, as always. Newt’s more soft hearted than Alby, and he had interacted with the girl, even if it was for a second. Newt wants to her to be alive, though he’s never said anything to Nick. The leader could just tell by the way he would stick with the new greenies for a whole week after she ran into the Maze, and he still does it.

Minho doesn’t believe in ghosts. The runner leaning against the wall behind the leader has made his stance clear on multiple occasions. There are no such things as ghosts, so there’s no ghost girl in the Maze. Whenever asked about the singing or Hauntings, the boy would just roll his eyes. Once Nick had asked though, he got a chilling answer.

_“Then how do you explain the ghostly things if there is no ghost?”_

_Minho rolled his eyes, though it didn’t slow his jog. They were both out running in the Maze and were heading back to the Glade together._

_“There is no ghost, because there were no remains. Look, we’re a bunch of boys thrown into a death trap for what? And then a girl comes and immediately runs into said trap? And completely disappears? I wouldn’t put it past the people who put us here to thrown in a plant to mess with us.”_

_“A plant?” Nick’s brows furrowed._

_Minho nodded. “She disappears to never be seen again; we only ‘hear her’ and get ‘haunted’ every now and then.” He shakes his head. “They put her here to take her out and then use her memory to mess with us. She’s with them, probably.”_

It made sense, in a twisted way. But what were the people in charge if not twisted?

Nick just hopes this won’t go as badly as Alby expects it to. The leader has faith that the Gladers won’t fall apart. 

“Minho and I were returning back to the Glade when we were attacked by a Griever.” Nick starts. “We heard it coming, and tried to get out of there, but it found us anyway.” The brunette pauses. He had gotten knocked out when the Griever came upon them, so he doesn’t really know what happened next.

But Minho does. “Nick got knocked in the head really hard. I thought we were Griever food but…” the Runner drifts off, eyes focused on the ground. 

“Minho?” A runner on the Keeper’s other side, Simon, asks.

“It just stopped and left.” Minho crosses his arms over his chest and looks at a Nick. “The tail was swinging around. I know it was about to sting one of us, but it just stopped and took off.” Minho looks at the Gladers now. “It was going to kill us. There’s no doubt. But it didn’t, and that’s why I was able to drag Nick back to the Doors.”

It went without saying that they hadn’t made it _through_ the Doors. That wasn’t the real issue. They hadn’t had a Griever attack in _years._ The last one was a few months before the girl went in. They lost a Runner named Louis when he was on his way back to the Glade. He was stung, but he didn’t survive it like Gally did.

Whispers start in the crowd of Gladers. Most are confused mutterings. 

_“Why would it stop? Grievers have always killed us.”_

_“They were lucky to get away. Did the Creators do this?”_

_“Is the ghost not protecting us anymore? What does she want?”_

_“Would Nick and Minho be as bad as Gally if they’d gotten stung?”_

Nick wants to both cringe and laugh at the last whisper. He just hopes Gally was far away enough to miss it.

Alas, Gally seems to have powerful ears, because he’s out of his seat in a second.

“Speaking of _Doors_ ,” Gally sends a withering glare in the direction of the offending remark before focusing on Thomas. “We need to do something about this _shank_.” Last word is said in a way that is very clear on what he thinks about the greenie. The Keeper raises his crazy eyebrows at Nick, a silent request for permission to speak. Nick lifts his hand in a _wait_ gesture, because if they do anything about Thomas before they whole story is out there, Gally would be insufferable.

“Let’s just get this out before we make any decisions.” Nick beacons Minho forward with an earnest smile. “Minho? Since you know so much more than me, if you will.” 

The Keeper of the Runners just sends a dirty look at the Leader, before stepping forward. Minho dislikes speaking in front of all the Glade. Not because he’s shy or anything, but usually when _he_ has to speak, it’s not good news. He especially does not want to talk about the first moments of being trapped in the Maze. He had already given up.

“This _shank_ ,” Minho began, looking at Gally, “may be jacked, but I’m glad he was in the Maze with us. Nick and I would be Griever food without him.” 

A quiet fell over the Gladers. Gally crossed his arms and went to stand by the wall. Guess he still had more to say.

Thomas, on the other hand, sits up straighter. While the sense of approval he was getting from some of the boys felt nice, he couldn’t just sit there and claim all the credit. He tentatively raised his hand. “It wasn’t-“, attention turned to the greenie. Thomas took a breath. “We would have all been Griever food if it wasn’t for the girl.”

That began another round of talking among the Gladers, and Thomas was subjected to another bout of Chuck’s super sad eyes. “You didn’t say anything!”

“I didn’t know if I could!”

“She helped you?”

Thomas looked at Minho, who was supposed to be telling them all this, but it seems that the Keeper was glad to pass him the task. He huffs and turns to face the Gladers, but he didn’t stand. “She was at the entrance. We didn’t know what to do, so when she told us to follow her, we did. She showed us some gaps in the walls, and we hid in them. Then she left us there.”

“The vines did a good job of hiding us.” Minho volunteers when Thomas stopped speaking. 

“Um, yeah.” Thomas decided to not look at everyone and instead focuses on Chuck and Newt at his sides. “A Griever came along though, it was almost gone when Nick started waking up.” A few boys hiss in sympathy, as if they could feel how terrifying that was. “She had told us that the monsters were sensitive to sound and movement, so I tried to distract it from Nick and Minho.”

Thomas pauses then, looking at Nick and Minho, and sending a glance at Gally. Nick made a _go ahead_ motion. “I just ran from it really…” Thomas wiped his hands on his pants. “I actually ran into her while I was running away from the Griever.”

“Wait.” Frypan spoke this time from the second row. He’s sitting next to the other cooks. “Is she or is she not a ghost?”

“Of course she’s not a ghost. They talked to her!” Winston was insistent, which is odd because he usually didn’t speak up at Gatherings. Maybe it had to do with the interesting shades the Baggers were turning.

Because if she wasn’t a ghost, that meant that either one of the Gladers was pranking Frypan or the girl came into the Glade to prank him. Either way, someone was getting past the Bagger patrols and they didn’t like that.

No one turns to Minho to get his opinion. Everyone knew he already didn’t believe in ghosts. That left Thomas, who threw his hands up when Chuck began poking him for answers.

“Well?” Nick leans in towards the greenie.

“I-“ How was he supposed to say this? “I couldn’t tell!" 

That sprang a new round of questions. Newt waves his hand sharply, which cuts off most of the Gladers’ words. “How come you can’t tell? You talked to her? Did you touch her at all?” 

“I didn’t touch her, but we spoke… I asked her name. She couldn’t remember it. She said it might’ve started with an S.”

Jacob, the Keeper of the Baggers speaks, “She left before she could’ve remembered it. The longest it’s taken for a Glader to remember their name was Theo. It was two days before he remembered.”

The mentioned Builder slid down in his seat while Winston responded. “It only took Mark three hours.”

Nick hummed. Most turn their attention to him while some of the Baggers glare at the smug Track Hoe Mark. “So, that’s not really definitive. She might not remember it because there’s no one with her to help her remember, maybe. Or,” the corner of his lips turn down, “she could have died before learning her name.”

True silence seemed to echo in the Gathering Hall. Dying without even knowing your name?

“She had a trap!” Thomas interrupted it. “She used the vines to trip the Griever!” He nods to himself. “She cut a vine with a knife, and it made other vines trip the Griever. It’s how we were able to get away long enough to trap it in a closing corridor.”

“And kill it.” Minho adds ‘helpfully’.

Gally couldn’t seem to stop himself. “You killed a Griever?” 

Newt tries to calm the crazy browed boy. “Listen Gally-“  
  
“Crushed in a wall. Only its head was poking out.”   
  
Gally took Minho’s words as a go ahead. “We’ve lived in coexistence with these things for years.” He turns to address the whole Glade. “We have clear rules here, and our greenie here,” Gally waves at Thomas, “has taken it upon himself to go into the Maze and kill one of them.”  
  
“He saved Nick’s life.” Frypan said.

Gally raises his eyebrows. “He killed a Griever. Who knows what that could mean for us. There needs to be a punishment.”

An interesting point, though a misguided one. Nick has been here for a near five years, and he would never call the relationship between the Gladers and the Grievers ‘coexistence’. Yes, they lived in the same place, but is it really coexistence when one tries to kill the other? The encounters had stopped two years ago, but something prompted the Griever to show its face today, and no one could pin it on the greenie because he wasn’t even there when it attacked.

“Us punishing him won’t change anything with the Grievers.” Nick stepped up between Gally and where Minho had stepped to the side. He claps a hand on the Runner Keeper’s shoulder. “Besides, ‘peace’ with the Grievers would mean they wouldn’t try to kill us everytime they saw us. You were there with him Minho, what do you think we should do with him?”

Nick knew there was a reason Minho encouraged Gally to speak, and he’s proven correct when the Runner speaks. “I was scared.” Minho swallows. “This shank might be brave, or just plain stupid.” Minho raises his eyes to look at all the Gladers. “But whatever it is, it’s something we need more of. I say we make him a Runner.”  
  
Chaos. Thomas sat up and looked at the Runner in awe and Newt looked like it was the best thing anyone has said all day. Nick winced when various voiced raised to let their thoughts known, especially when Chuck began to chant Thomas’s name in glee. He personally agrees with Minho’s suggestion. He can tell that the greenie would get into all kinds of trouble if he was stuck in the Glade all day. The guy was just too curious. He waves his hands. “Ow.”

Most of the boys quiet down. “Then that’s that.” Nick smiles at Thomas. “Its your choice now, shank. You want to be a Runner? You can choose to do whichever job, but the Keeper can turn you down.”

“I- uh, yes- I mean- that’d be great.” Thomas nods his head. “A Runner. Yeah, I want to be a Runner.” He finally gets out.

“Wonderful!” Nick clasps his hands. He turns toward the Keeper of the Runners while skillfully avoiding Gally’s bewildered gaze. “Minho will show you the ropes. Which reminds me, someone should go out and examine the Griever body.”

“Should we?”  
  
Thomas, with his newfound confidence, responds to Minho’s inquiry. “ _Of course_. You can’t say you’re not curious about it?”

“Not even a little bit.” The Keeper responds fervently when it looks like Gally is about to blow a gasket.

Thomas turns to Nick. “Everyone has said that no one’s gotten a really good look at the Grievers up close and gotten away. Now we have one! We could learn something about them. Even the tiniest thing could help out against them.”  
  
There was silence as Nick contemplated his words, and Newt decided to fill the gap. “Look, we can send Thomas and Minho out with Alby. Maybe someone else if you think it’ll help, but he’s got a point.”

Nick nods. “Nothing to lose really. I want to go out too.” Nick only raises a brow when Minho’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline, as if incredulous on why he’s want to go back out after almost dying. He cast a glance at Alby when the dark skinned boy steps up beside him. “My head will be better tomorrow. I didn’t get a good whiff of the Griever when we passed.” His remark earned him an eyeroll. He looked at Newt now.

“You’ll be fine in charge of the Glade for a bit, won’t you?”

Newt thought about his words. Of course he’d be fine. It wasn’t the first time both Nick and Ably went out to sub in for sick Runners after all, but Nick must have thought he was missing something. He may be, actually. “Can you look for the girl?”

Minho’s lips tighten, while a contemplating look came over Nick’s face.

“We can try,” Alby says slowly, “but you know, it’s most likely she’s not a ghost. _If_ she’s alive,” Alby emphasizes, when the Baggers start to protest, “That means that she’s been avoiding us for a near two years. If she doesn’t want to be found, then we won’t find anything of her.”

“I last saw her by the Griever, so it wouldn’t be too much of a bother to look around a bit.” Thomas reassures the blonde. Newt cracks a small smile at the greenie.

“Any objections?” Nick asks the Gladers at large.

When no one spoke up, the leader smiled at a successful Gathering completed. “I guess it’s been a while we’ve all been here, so time to get some shut-eye. We’ll have another Gathering if we find anything profound from the Griever.”

* * *

 

The Keepers, Newt, Alby, Nick, and Thomas remain where they are as the Gladers begin talking among themselves and filling out of the Gathering Hall. The Keepers and the three in command usually stay behind to go over finer details of running the Glade. Anyone can stay to listen, but none ever want to. It’s usually just the logistics of feeding the Gladers and general upkeep. Thomas was asked to stay by Alby. Chuck had already gone ahead – he needed a shower after staying at the Maze Doors all night. 

This After-Gathering is different for another reason. A Runner named Leo remains where he’s seated in the second row. He hadn’t gotten a chance to speak to Minho after the three came back into the Maze, since he and Nick passed out in the Medjack hut. It wasn’t something terribly important, so he didn’t want to bring it up in the Gathering, but it did bother him. 

“What’s up, shank?” Minho asks him when it’s clear he’s not leaving with the rest of the Runners. “You guys don’t have to go out tomorrow, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Uh, no. It’s not that…” Leo trails off. He’s gained the attention of the Three in command as well as the Keepers at this point. “I just wanted to let you know that I heard something yesterday.”

“From a Glader?” Nick’s concern is warming. Leo would have missed it if they hadn’t made it back.

“No, in the Maze.” Leo sits up straighter. “Before I started back to the Doors, I heard a loud whistle.”

“Like the wind?” Minho asks. It’s not weird for the sound of the wind to echo off the walls when the winds are particularly strong. The weather was tame yesterday though…

“No, like a person whistle. Kind of like Ron’s.”

Ron is a Slicer. He’s the best at herding the animals because he’d get their attention by sticking both his forefinger and thumb in the corners of his mouth and letting out an ear-splitting whistle. It scared the klunk out of the Gladers sometimes.

Nick frowns. “What section were you running? I don’t remember hearing anything like that.”

Leo winces. “I was running kind of behind in the section next to yours. You guys might’ve been halfway back when I heard it. It came from the direction of the Glade.”

Nick hums. Minho glances at the Leader. That could have been when they were attacked. If it was, they wouldn’t have heard it… even if it was coming from between them and Leo. They were a little preoccupied with a Griever to be hearing whistles. “Thanks for telling us, Leo.”  
  
The Runner nods and quickly gets up to leave the Gathering Hall. He wanted to get a shower, before all the hot water was used up.

The contemplative silence continued even after Leo left.

“What did you say,” Nick began, “about the Grievers being sensitive to sound?”

Minho shares a glance with Thomas. “The girl said not to move or make a sound, because the Griever were sensitive to it. That’s all.” He says slowly.

“You think the whistle had to do something with the attack.” Gally states. 

“Well, a Griever doesn’t turn away from its food for no reason.” Frypan points out.

“They don’t come out of nowhere either.” Gally fires back.

“We didn’t hear it.” Minho says. “If it was between Leo and the Glade, then we would have heard it before the Griever appeared. We didn’t.”

“You think she made the whistle?” Newt looks excited at the prospect. “It could have drawn it away.”  
  
“Nick made a _small_ noise in the Maze and the Griever was on its way. A loud whistle could have drawn it away, but…” Thomas trails off.

“But why chase a whistle when it already has a catch?” Alby finishes for him.

Newt can see how Minho’s jaw is clenching. “Minho?” 

The boys turn to the Runner.

Minho just blows out a breath. “You know what I think about her.” The Gladers nod except for Thomas. It might be common knowledge that Minho doesn’t think she’s a ghost, but the whole ‘a trick from the Creators to mess with the Gladers’ theory is not. “What if it’s planned? Get a Griever to attack, then have it drawn away, and have her save us?”

“Or,” Nick didn’t want to believe she was one of them, ghost or not. “She knows how to get the Griever’s attention. She’s had to have encountered them before, so maybe she knows just what makes them tick. _If_ she’s alive.” Nick finishes when Jacob squints threateningly at him. The Baggers were serious about their patrols. 

“We can’t know unless she tells us.” Newt says. 

“We’ll just see if she decided to talk to us tomorrow.” Thomas tells him. Alby raises a brow behind Newt’s back while the blonde is looking at the greenie. “She talked to us yesterday. Maybe she’ll do it again? It has to be lonely out there in the Maze…”

“Oh? Lonely?” Frypan asks, sarcasm lining his voice. “Is that why she’s always messing with the Kitchen?”

The boys chuckle at Frypan as they begin leaving the Gathering Hall. Logistics can wait.

* * *

 

_“If.”_ Thomas says to himself. He’s sitting on the grass, leaning against a log off of the space between the showers and the Homestead, waiting for a turn with the showers. He knows he stinks from a night in the Maze. 

“You alright?”

The greenie glances up. Minho had walked over without him noticing. The Keeper raises a brow at the new-Runner.

“Uh, yeah. Just thinking.” Minho doesn’t look like he believes him. The Keeper looks over his shoulder before sitting down on his left. Thomas is confused, and Nick strolling over to his other side to sit only intensifies the feeling. 

“Look.” The leader begins. He stops, seemingly to gather his thoughts before speaking. “It’s a lot. We were in a scary place, and that can be traumatizing.” Nick looks in the Thomas’s eyes and then looks at Minho. “I almost freaked out in the med hut just thinking about it. If either of you need to talk about it, I’m here okay? Or talk to someone. Newt’s pretty good at this stuff.”

The leader smiles warmly at the both of them. Minho seems to relax as Thomas nods. It was just a few words, but they did help relieve a tightness in his chest he didn’t know was there. Burying the feelings seemed natural, but it didn’t need to be. He had friends to rely on. He smiled thinking about it. They weren’t alone in this.

The three sat in a comfortable silence as they watched the other Gladers get ready for bed.

Now is a good time to ask. “Hey.” Thomas looks at Minho. “Did you notice anything weird about the girl?”  
  
Minho snorts, “Like what? Everything about her?”  
  
“No…” The greenie can’t help but wrinkle his nose at the Keeper. “There was something off about her.”  
  
“Everything was off about her.” Minho says with a roll of his eyes.

Thomas just sinks and turns to Nick in exasperation. The leader almost rolls his own eyes at Minho’s responses. They were having such a nice moment too. “What do you mean, greenie? What was so ‘off’?”

Thomas turns towards Minho again. “Think Minho. Could you hear her? Because I couldn’t.”  
  
“What do you _mean_ ‘hear her’?” Minho’s exasperation leaks full force into his voice. “We talked to her!”  
  
“Like! Footsteps! Did you hear them?”

Nick’s gaze bounces back between Thomas and Minho. Thomas is looking expectantly at Minho while the taller boy’s face morphed from exasperation to reluctance, and finally settles on contemplation.

“I can’t really remember.” Minho says at last. It wasn’t very convincing. 

“You think she’s still a ghost?” Nick is amused. It seems for every argument saying she’s alive there’s a counter saying she’s a ghost.

“Ghosts don’t need to make sounds do they?” Thomas was insistent.   
  
Nick hums and looks at Minho. It looks like the boy is going over his interactions with her and isn’t liking what he’s coming up with. Hauntings are one thing, but coming face to face with irrefutable evidence?

“Ghosts aren’t real.” The Keeper mumbles. 

Nick does his best to suppress his grin. “We’ll see about that.”  
  
Nick and Thomas’s laughs drown out Minho’s dismayed groan.


End file.
